NATO’s European allies are concerned about the restrained reaction of US President Donald Trump to the drone incident in Poland and are beginning to doubt Washington’s willingness to protect them from potential threats.
This is reported by the Reuters agency, citing European diplomats.
In Europe, Trump’s restrained reaction was interpreted as another manifestation of his “America First” policy, which implies that European countries must ensure their own security.
“This episode underscores that Trump, unlike other presidents since [Franklin] Roosevelt, does not consider the security of Europe to be a central element of US security,” said Ivo Daalder, former US Permanent Representative to NATO (2009-2013).
According to the agency’s interlocutors, such incidents in the past would have provoked an immediate response from Washington. Now, however, Trump’s reaction in Europe is characterized as “public shrugging of the shoulders”. According to the agency’s sources, European politicians perceived the statements of the US president with “disappointment”, “bewilderment” and even “concern”.
A senior German official said that US representatives participated in the discussion of the drone incident with European allies, but looked “hesitant”.
“We cannot rely on the US with this administration. But we have to pretend that we can,” he told the agency.
A diplomat from one of the Eastern European countries called the US reaction “a deafening silence”.
“So far, the US has not particularly encouraged anyone,” he said. A source from Italy even noted that most NATO countries reacted negatively to the US response to the incident, but avoid openly criticizing Washington. European diplomats are also concerned by the fact that the US Air Force did not participate in the operation to neutralize the drone. But in the US, this is explained by the fact that at the time of the incident, the responsibility for the airspace over Poland was borne by the Netherlands.
