Ukraine's envoy to NATO says it is time to "reinvent" Alliance amid Trump's threats

Aliona Hetmanchuk, Ukraine's Ambassador to NATO, believes the current turbulence caused by US President Donald Trump's remarks about the Alliance could lead to its "reinvention".

Source: Hetmanchuk in a comment to Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Hetmanchuk reacted to Trump's remarks with "surprising optimism".

"Instead of talking about the collapse of NATO, I would prefer to speak about the reinvention of the alliance," she said on Friday.

The ambassador argues that, paradoxically, the crisis could open up more opportunities for Ukraine's integration into the Alliance, which, she says, would help NATO become "far more effective, lethal, innovative, and capable of countering the Russian threat."

Hetmanchuk also commented on Trump's description of NATO as a "paper tiger" incapable of deterring Russian leader Vladimir Putin. She noted that although the Kremlin has spent decades trying to undermine NATO, it has never once dared to attack any member state directly.

She also said that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty – which obliges the Alliance to come to the defence of any member under attack – remains a "role model" in terms of security guarantees.

The ambassador acknowledged that confidence in NATO had been shaken in part by "[NATO's] behaviour in the first years of the war, when it deliberately tried to distance itself from all key processes related to providing Ukraine with the most necessary support – lethal weapons."

After Trump's re-election and Washington's decision to scale back support for Kyiv, NATO assumed a more active role in the country's defence, and today the Alliance coordinates more than 80% of all military aid to Ukraine.

According to Hetmanchuk, Kyiv now positions itself as a partner that has something to offer the Alliance something in return for assistance.

"Even without being a NATO member, we are the only country that, in practice, is already implementing the Alliance's Strategic Concept," she said, referring to the document outlining key objectives and clearly identifying adversaries whose aggressive behaviour must be stopped.

Ukraine, she added, is a key partner of the Alliance in "confronting its most direct and significant threat, which has been defined as Russia".

Background:

• Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's former special envoy for Ukraine, criticised NATO and suggested that a new alliance could be established involving Ukraine.
• It was also reported that Trump said he is seriously considering the possibility of withdrawing the United States from NATO due to allies' stance on the US war in Iran.
• However, media reports indicate that neither the US Congress nor the Pentagon has discussed withdrawing from NATO, while within the Alliance, Trump's threats to sever ties are viewed as a bluff.

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