Former Secretary-General Stoltenberg Says NATO's Survival Is Not Guaranteed

JAKARTA - Former Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg said the existence of the military alliance was not "natural law," and there was no guarantee that the alliance would last for the next ten years.

He reminded that US President Donald Trump had threatened to withdraw from the North Atlantic Alliance during his first term, but the threat was not implemented. Stoltenberg noted that no one could say for sure how likely such a scenario was, but urged that the US leader's statement be taken seriously.

"It is not a law of nature that NATO will exist forever. The continuation of NATO in the next ten years is uncertain," he told TV2, as reported by TASS (16/4).

According to him, US allies in NATO should not focus on Trump's rhetoric, but on their own actions.

He called on them to take greater responsibility for ensuring security and increasing defense spending if they want to maintain an allied relationship with Washington.

Previously, President Donald Trump said the United States would carefully review its policy within NATO.

"We pay trillions of dollars to NATO and they are not there for us," he claimed, referring to the actions of allies who he said did not support the US.

Earlier this month, President Trump said he was seriously considering withdrawing the US from NATO because he refused to join the war.

Previously, President Trump had criticized NATO's failure to support his efforts regarding Greenland. Instead of supporting, Western countries sent their armed forces personnel to Greenland as solidarity with fellow NATO members.