Europe should link support for Trump on Iran to arms supplies for Ukraine – NATO expert

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Defence and Security Cooperation at NATO, Gerlinde Niehus, stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"It is blackmail – and not for the first time. He already threatened to withdraw from NATO back in 2018, and he is doing so again now. I hope that Europeans will stand together, push back, and not give in. If you give in to a bully, you only encourage him to hit you even harder," she said, commenting on Trump's statement about a "difficult future" for NATO if allies refuse to help in a war against Iran.

According to Niehus, Europe should act pragmatically and put forward counter-demands to Washington.

"If Trump is in need of aid, Europeans should consider – cool-headed and clear-eyed – what they could offer – but only in return for key concessions from Donald Trump. So, for example, Europeans should make aid conditional upon Ukraine receiving US weapons in support of its defence," she emphasized.

At the same time, the former NATO official stressed that Trump's statements have already harmed the Alliance.

"The damage is already being done, because he is undermining NATO's credibility – to Vladimir Putin's delight – and signaling to Allies that the United States is an unreliable partner. If solidarity is conditional on accepting unrelated demands, then that is not an Alliance among Allies – it is coercion," she said.

She also expressed skepticism about the prospects for a quick end to Russia's war against Ukraine. "Putin is not interested in a just and fair peace. He believes time is on his side – and Donald Trump gives him every reason to think so every single day," she added.

In her view, Trump is also not seeking a just peace. "Trump simply wants to get the Ukraine issue off the table so he can reset relations with Russia," Niehus said.

She stressed that the war could end more quickly if the West acted more decisively.

"This war could actually end very quickly if Trump were to exert real pressure on Putin, or if he simply gave Ukraine everything it needs to win on its own terms without limiting aid," the expert concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, President Donald Trump warned that NATO faces a "very bad" future if allies do not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.