Trump is no longer just secretly dreaming of dividing Europe with Putin; he is officially declaring it in the U.S. national strategy.
The new U.S. National Security Strategy should serve as a final warning to Europe that it is alone in containing Russian expansion. At best, Washington will simply stand aside; at worst, it will assist Moscow. This is stated in an op-ed for Foreign Policy by Nathalie Tocci, an Italian political scientist and expert in international relations, and director of Italy's leading think tank, Istituto Affari Internazionali.
"Europeans have lulled themselves into believing that U.S. President Donald Trump is unpredictable and inconsistent, but ultimately manageable. This is oddly reassuring, but it is wrong," she writes.
Tocci notes that the new national security strategy released this week indicates the Trump administration's desire to have good relations with Russia rather than with Europe. In her view, the U.S. president dreams of 'dividing and conquering' the European continent alongside Putin, entrusting a significant part of the 'dirty work' to nationalist, far-right European forces supported by both Moscow and Washington.
"Europe has long needed to realize that when it comes to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the security of the continent, it is, at best, on its own. At worst, it is now facing two adversaries: Russia in the east and Trump’s United States in the west," the analyst warns.
Tocci criticizes Europe's tactic of 'turning the other cheek' to Trump in attempts to preserve the already fractured transatlantic alliance. In her opinion, Europeans should finally take their own security into their hands.
"Russia's war for imperial conquest begins with Ukraine, but does not end there, and Kyiv's capitulation will only free up Russian resources to open new fronts against Europe. Ukraine, unfortunately, is the gate that prevents the hybrid war already raging in Europe from turning into a much more serious military attack," she warns.
The analyst urges European leaders to focus on long-term goals rather than squabbling over short-term issues. In this context, she believes it is necessary to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, even if this creates certain legal problems. After all, in the longer term, Ukraine's defeat will cost Europe significantly more.
The New Official U.S. Strategy
As reported by UNIAN, earlier this week the White House unveiled a new U.S. National Security Strategy, which resembles a declaration of friendship between the U.S. and Russia against democratic Europe. This document has dealt a new blow to relations between Europe and America.
The document declares a priority for the 'America First' approach, a reduction in U.S. security commitments in Europe, and effectively halts further NATO expansion. The strategy emphasizes that European countries must ensure their own defense, while the U.S. will concentrate resources in other regions.
At the same time, the strategy identifies 'restoring strategic stability' in relations with Russia as one of its key priorities, avoiding a direct designation of the Russian Federation as an aggressor in the war against Ukraine. This balance, according to analysts, appears favorable to Moscow.
European countries are described in the document in a sharply critical tone - as a region with demographic, economic, and civilizational problems that is allegedly losing its ability to be a reliable partner.
