The former head of the CIA, retired general David Petraeus, said that President Vladimir Putin is “the greatest gift to NATO since the end of the Cold War,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He stated this at the Raisina Dialogue conference in India, Voice of America reports.
Petraeus said Putin's rise to power had given NATO "a new reason to live." In addition, thanks to the policies of the Russian president, the United States “has largely remained a support” for many world countries.
The general also said that Washington is doing much more for NATO than other members of the alliance, and criticizes them for not sponsoring this military organization enough. Petraeus noted that the Trump administration not only continues to develop the plans of its predecessors to transfer American troops and equipment to Europe, but is also engaged in the development of NATO. As an example, he cited the new alliance command structure introduced in 2018.
In July, Trump called on NATO countries to start spending 2% of GDP on defense without waiting until 2025. According to him, only five out of 29 members of the alliance fulfilled their obligations to finance the organization.
“The US pays to protect Europe and then loses billions on trade. What good does NATO do if Germany pays Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy?” - the American president wondered.
In November, it became known that a total of nine NATO member countries had increased military spending to 2% of GDP.