“If NATO comes down to us only defending Europe in case of an attack on them, while they refuse us the right to use military bases when we need it, then this is not a very good arrangement. Under such conditions, it is difficult to continue participating (in the alliance — OstroV). Therefore, all of this will have to be reconsidered”, - said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview with Al Jazeera, published on March 31.
He emphasized that the United States will have to reconsider relations with NATO due to the unwillingness of European countries to help Donald Trump in a military operation against Iran and in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz before the end of hostilities.
Earlier, Trump called other NATO countries “cowards”, and the alliance itself a “paper tiger”. At the same time, the United States, according to numerous media reports citing European officials, did not warn partners about preparations for a military operation in Iran.
It is noted that Rubio effectively avoided answering the Al Jazeera correspondent’s question about this. He called such media statements “hypocritical” and began explaining that American troops are stationed in Europe for its protection.
“If we decided tomorrow to withdraw our troops from Europe, it would mean the end of NATO. NATO is an alliance, and an alliance implies mutual benefit. It cannot be a one-way street. Hopefully, we will be able to fix this. We will have time to deal with it later”, - Rubio said.
Earlier it was reported that Trump threatened Iran to “destroy all power plants and oil wells”.