"Trump understates the threat posed by Russia": why the US is concerned about the state of relations with Europe

The policies of US leader Donald Trump have led to a noticeable deterioration in relations between the United States and the European Union. This is the opinion of analysts at the Brookings Institution.

According to the report, during the two and a half years of Trump’s presidency, a “strange lull” has been established in transatlantic relations. However, this situation will soon change, analysts are convinced.

Thus, criticism of the US president concerns his position in foreign policy, which, according to the authors of the report, is fundamentally different from the provisions of the US National Security Strategy 2017. Recall that in this document, Russia and China are identified as the main "threats" to the United States.

“China and Russia are challenging American power, influence and interests, trying to undermine US security and prosperity. They intend to ... increase their military strength and control information and data, ”the authors of the strategy emphasize.

Europe as a whole, as noted in the report, welcomed the US movement from the fight against terrorism to the challenges and threats from Russia and China. However, according to analysts, Trump decided to change the vector of foreign policy.

“As a result, the president (USA. - RT ) has for the most part taken control of foreign and security policies and adheres to the America First Strategy, the main points of which are fundamentally contrary to the provisions of his own national security strategy - not least this concerns the constant understatement of the security threat emanating from Russia and the president’s readiness to offer “deals” to leaders of such unfriendly countries as China, North Korea and even Iran, ”the document says.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Japan
• Reuters
• © Kevin Lamarque

Recall that in late August, Donald Trump announced his intention to invite Vladimir Putin to the next G7 summit.

Earlier, the American leader emphasized that the presence of Russia at the summit to be held in 2020 would be useful.

However, in the US Congress, they strongly disagreed with the initiative of the American president to return Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation to the “group of seven,” indicating in an official letter that Russia “has neither democratic institutions nor economic potential” to return to G7.

“Two strategies regarding Russia”

However, the claims of analysts at the Brookings Institution relate to the sanctions agenda. So, in their opinion, in Washington today there are two lines of policy towards Russia - the line of Congress and the line of the president.

“Today in Washington, there are two strategies for Russia: the strategy of Congress and the strategy of the president. The latter, it seems, comes down to trying to establish relations with Moscow at every opportunity, which Congress intends to confront with unprecedented decisiveness, ”the document emphasizes.

This, in turn, undermines the transatlantic consensus, which is crucial for anti-Russian sanctions to work, since Russia is much more dependent on the European than on the US market, the document says.

Alexander Domrin, a professor at the Faculty of Law at the Higher School of Economics, said in an interview with RT that Europe itself is gradually beginning to feel the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions.

“There is a“ sobering up ”of Europe that sanctions against Russia, it turns out, hit not only against it, but also across Europe itself. And in this sense, you should not blame Trump for the deterioration of relations between the United States and Europe. Europe itself does a lot for this, ”the expert is convinced.

Earlier, the European Parliament pointed to billions of dollars in losses of the European Union due to the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions. This statement was made by the French MEP Nadine Morano. In her opinion, the imposed sanctions against Russia had no political impact, while retaliatory measures from Moscow caused "real harm to European producers."

However, French President Emmanuel Macron, at a meeting with the ambassadors of the Fifth Republic in late August 2019, announced that the era of Western hegemony was drawing to a close. The French president announced the growing role of Russia and China and called for a review of relations with Moscow.

In Germany, in turn, they calculated the damage from retaliatory restrictive measures on the part of Moscow. German politician Mike Moring said that Russia's sanctions against Germany "do the most harm, especially in agriculture."

According to Alexander Domrin, criticism of Trump’s position can also be associated with the upcoming presidential election, which will be held in the United States in November 2020.

Unfair competition

Analysts at the Brookings Institution provide a list of proposals for Europe to review transatlantic relations.

The authors, in particular, focus on the mutual dependence and vulnerability of European states, which gives rise to the responsibility of EU member states. According to American experts, this is a reason enough to "sacrifice myopic and narrow personal interest in order to build a trusting relationship."

“This definitely applies to the American superpower, but also applies to Germany. German economic policy and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project need to be reviewed in this context, ”the Brookings Institution of the United States emphasizes.

However, experts interviewed by RT agree that, by exerting pressure on Germany, the United States seeks to eliminate competitors in the international energy market.

• Construction of Nord Stream 2
• Reuters
• © Anton Vaganov

As political analyst at CIS-EMO international monitoring organization Stanislav Byshok explained in an interview with RT, US liquefied natural gas exporters fear competition from Russian energy projects.

Nord Stream 2 is, on the one hand, history is very politicized, and on the other hand, among this politicization there are clear interests of American LNG exporters to the European market, who fear that European countries will be more interested in buying Russian gas than American, ”said the expert.

Germany has repeatedly talked about the importance of Nord Stream 2 for Germany.

“We do not make ourselves dependent on Russia. We are talking about reducing supply routes and creating new supply structures, since in the coming years our demand for gas will increase significantly, ”said German Altmayer, Minister of Economy and Energy of Germany.

In addition, the Bundestag was also called unreasonable sabotage of the Nord Stream 2.

According to Alexander Domrin, Russia offers much more favorable conditions for the supply of natural gas.

“Of course, this (LNG supplies from the USA. - RT ) does not at all coincide with either the interests of Russia or the interests of Europe, since Russian gas is cheaper. But to use your “muscle mass” to push your interests purely, in the order of things for America, ”said Domrin in an interview with RT.

As for the European initiative of “strategic autonomy”, according to analysts at the Brookings Institution, this is a “dangerous fallacy” that will provide even more opportunities for Russia and China.

“It is necessary to refrain from such ideas, since this will only give Russia and China an additional lever of pressure on Europe. The cooperation of Western states is indispensable, except in the narrowest, purely business sense, ”the document says.

It is worth noting that statements about the need to create a European military alliance have been actively heard from EU member states since the fall of 2018.

So, Macron last November called on European states to join forces in the field of defense. At the EU summit in December of the same year, they noted that such an initiative would contribute to "strengthening the strategic autonomy of the European Union."

In August 2019, the Minister of Defense of Sweden Peter Hultqvist also announced his country's intention to join the integration program of the armed forces of the European Union.

At the same time, according to the data set out in the EU strategic agenda until 2024, the EU intends to closely cooperate with NATO on defense issues while respecting autonomy in decision-making.

European Union states seek to strengthen their sovereignty due to the fact that "friendship with the United States" brings direct economic damage to Europe, said political analyst Alexander Asafov.

“This is an attempt to impose American LNG on Europe, and a ban on working with Iran, and duties, and sanctions, etc. This is all causing obvious damage to the economy. And Trump often recalls that membership in NATO also costs money. This is money that European countries have not transferred for a long time, and Trump has repeatedly blackmailed it with this, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, Europe is not very happy with this, therefore, there is talk of creating a pan-European army. In addition, Europe is aware that there is no future in such “vassal” relations, Asafov added.

“Therefore, in Europe they are beginning to understand that they are becoming a bargaining chip,” the expert concluded.