US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's change in position on NATO has caused “funeral moods“ in European capitals, according to The Economist.
The authors of the article recall that in 2023, as a senator, Rubio co-sponsored a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing the unilateral withdrawal of the US from NATO. It stipulates that the US president can withdraw the country from the North Atlantic Alliance or suspend its participation only with the consent of the Senate, with a two-thirds vote.
The Economist noted that Rubio, who previously acted as “the last adult in Trump“s entourage“ and sought to stabilize relations with NATO and prevent the US from abandoning Ukraine, seems to have abandoned his previous position.
On April 1, Marco Rubio said that the US should rethink the importance of NATO for the country. Trump will have to do this after the war in Iran, he added.
“NATO is about having troops in Europe to defend it. But when we need their help, without asking them to carry out air strikes, just to let us use their military bases, their answer is “no”. "Then why are we in NATO? That's the question we need to ask ourselves," he said.