President Trump is considering changing the U.S.’s participation in NATO by potentially not defending a member country that doesn’t meet the defense spending threshold. This would be a significant shift away from Article 5, which states that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all of them. The U.S. may also prioritize military exercises with members meeting the defense spending threshold. Trump has criticized NATO countries for not meeting the 2% GDP spending goal on defense, and has even suggested they spend 5%. This potential policy shift comes as Trump is urging European allies to do more to aid Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. European ambassadors have expressed concern that Trump may make a negative announcement about NATO. However, Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to NATO reassured that the administration is committed to NATO and Article 5. The consideration of this shift comes as Trump has previously threatened to withdraw the U.S. from NATO and questioned the merits of Article 5. As Ukraine seeks NATO membership, the Trump administration has indicated that this would not be part of any negotiated peace deal.
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