FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiNATO is considering scrapping next year's annual summit, partly to ease tensions with frequent critic of US President Donald Trump and to avoid drawing attention to the fact that the host country is one of the alliance's lowest-spending countries.
As NATO leaders meet in Ankara, a critical diplomatic effort is underway behind the scenes regarding the future of the alliance.
According to Bloomberg , the idea of leaving the annual leaders' summit has begun to be discussed loudly.
The biggest factor driving these discussions was US President Donald Trump’s harsh and relentless criticism of the alliance. Trump, who openly stated that he came to the Turkish capital only because of his close relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, continued his dismissive and questioning remarks about the military alliance during his meetings in Ankara. Trump’s stance created a serious wave of concern among allies about the upcoming summit.
Bloomberg emphasizes that under normal circumstances, postponing the summit, which was scheduled to take place in Albania next year, remains a serious option on the table.
Sources familiar with the talks tell Bloomberg that the main purpose of this action is to prevent Trump from having a new platform to publicly attack his allies.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reportedly wants these annual meetings to continue so that the alliance remains at the forefront of the global agenda and has highlighted member states' massive defense spending increases to sway Trump. However, it is not yet clear how effective this tactic has been with Trump so far.
"The desire to postpone the summit is not only due to Trump's personal harsh rhetoric, but also the budget of the next host country, Albania, is creating concern within the alliance. Albania has a profile that, until recently, has failed to meet NATO's long-standing commitment to allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense, placing it among the countries with the lowest spending in the alliance," the Bloomberg quote says.
Leaders fear that this situation will push Trump to further pressure the alliance on the budget gap. The most concrete manifestation of the strategic tension lies in the final communiqué of the Ankara Summit, which will be approved on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the draft text, the communiqué makes no reference to the date or location of the next summit, Bloomberg quotes.
The clearest institutional explanation of how the process will unfold came from NATO’s top military official, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Dragone confirmed that the summit would be held in Albania, while officially acknowledging that the timing of the meeting, whether it would take place next year or the year after, was currently under heated debate within the alliance.
At a time when geopolitical risks are at their peak in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the fact that NATO has reached the point of changing its institutional timetable to manage its relationship with the US, its largest financial donor, highlights the fragile balance that the military alliance will maintain during the Trump era.
Pyka e radhës e Ram Kumbarit kunder Shqiperise!
Karagjozi pushtues, ende kryeministër, nuk e do nje ushtri shqiptare te forte. Ky jep parate e taksapaguesve per çingjijet, ky urren shqiptaret.