NATO envoy: “US needs strong allies, not dependents”

The United States needs strong allies, not dependents, US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said in an interview with POLITICO.

Whitaker emphasised that allies must strengthen, invest in capacity, and train with NATO partners to ensure joint operational readiness, Caliber.Az reports.

"We need strong allies, not dependents."

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“But I think ultimately they’re going to realize, like all allies realized a year ago, that you’re going to have to be stronger, you’re going to have to invest in capabilities and you’re going to have to train more with NATO allies to make sure were interoperable and we can fight as one,” he continued.

Whitaker emphasized that the US plays a leading role in defense spending and has no plans to reduce its presence in Europe. 

“We’re just saying that together we are stronger, you know, we are investing in capabilities in the United States and we expect our European allies to match, and we expect you to be ready, we expect you to be more lethal than you have been and we expect you to be a lot more capable,” the ambassador added.

By Jeyhun Aghazada