US and Europe urged to temporarily distance themselves militarily

Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, responsible for all NATO military operations on the continent, James Stavridis, has recommended that the United States and its allies take a ,,break” from their relationship.

,,Sometimes, when a couple is going through turbulent events, the solution is not to break up the relationship completely. But instead, a ,,break” can offer a way to avoid an exchange of angry words. NATO allies should think about this if they want to preserve the 77-year-old North Atlantic Treaty’’, Stavridis told Bloomberg News.

The former NATO commander also recommended that the Alliance abandon the idea of ​​holding a new summit during the ,,break”. In his opinion, in the current circumstances, annual meetings of ministers are enough for the military bloc to remain functional.

At the same time, he believes that Europeans must demonstrate that they ,,do not want to sit under any American umbrella” and have their own capacity to mass-produce their own military equipment – ​​unmanned vehicles (Ukraine, a candidate state for the European Union, may be a leader in this regard); nuclear submarines (France and the UK are in the lead); and an increased nuclear deterrent (improving the arsenals of the British and French and, ultimately, encouraging Poland and Germany to join).

In the medium and long term, this period of distancing can be used by Europeans to create a military balance between both sides of the Atlantic.