The U.S. Is Not Leaving Europe: Latvia's Ambassador Explained What Is Actually Changing in NATO 0 23

Predictions that the U.S. might gradually distance itself from European security have not yet come true. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the LETA agency by Latvia's Ambassador to NATO, Maris Riekstins. According to him, in recent years, there have been repeated suggestions about a possible reduction in American involvement in NATO affairs and military presence in Europe. However, in practice, many of these predictions have not been confirmed.

Riekstins noted that American troops continue to participate in joint exercises on the European continent, and there have been no changes in NATO's traditional command structure, where the position of Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe is still held by a representative of the U.S.

The ambassador urged caution regarding loud statements and predictions that often appear in the information space. In his opinion, the current Washington policy is not about abandoning commitments to allies, but about striving for a fairer distribution of defense spending between the U.S. and European states.

What is important to know: this is not about the U.S. leaving the European security system, but about a gradual increase in the role of Europeans themselves in ensuring their own defense.

According to Riekstins, such demands have been coming from Washington for many years. He recalled that back in 2011, then U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned allies about the need to increase their own defense spending.

Now this topic has once again become one of the central issues after Donald Trump's return to the White House. At the same time, as the ambassador emphasizes, the U.S. is not abandoning key security guarantees, including nuclear deterrence within NATO.

One of the most important areas for strengthening European defense, Riekstins noted, is the development of air defense. He reminded that this year Latvia and Estonia are expected to receive modern air defense systems ordered from Germany several years ago.

The ambassador also considers it unfair that only some alliance countries are actively increasing defense spending, while others are doing so much more slowly. In his opinion, the security of Europe should be a shared responsibility of all NATO members.

In this context, the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7–8, takes on special significance. Riekstins expects that the meeting of alliance leaders will once again confirm NATO's readiness to defend the territory and populations of all member states.

Thus, the main question today is not the presence of the U.S. in Europe, but how quickly the European countries themselves can enhance their own defense capabilities and take on a greater share of the responsibility for the security of the region.