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NATO Fears Potential Trump-Putin Deal Will Leave Europe 'Vulnerable' – Reports

© AP Photo / Hau DinhWladimir Putin und Donald Trump bei ASEAN-Gipfel in Danang
Wladimir Putin und Donald Trump bei ASEAN-Gipfel in Danang - Sputnik International
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Donald Trump will leave for Europe next week for a NATO summit, which comes days ahead of the much-hyped bilateral meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the capital of Finland, Helsinki.

Senior NATO officials are worried that Trump could start talks with Putin about “redrawing the security landscape” across Europe if members of the alliance fail to comply with his demand to boost defense spending, The Telegraph reported, citing military and diplomatic sources.

READ MORE: Peace Activists Say "No" to NATO's Wars, Expansion, Military Spending (VIDEOS)

One of the sources said that officials were concerned that the US president would use the upcoming summit in Brussels to withdraw American military support over the spending rift.

Another source pointed to fears over possible agreements between the two leaders that could allegedly increase Europe’s vulnerability:

"We could be in a situation where, between them, Trump and Putin will come up with some dodgy deal that they'll try to portray as a political win to both their countries but will ultimately leave Europe exposed and vulnerable at a crucial moment in our history with so much instability on the continent."

The diplomatic figure told the outlet that Trump might also use the offer of reducing the US military presence in Europe in exchange for Putin’s reassurance that Russia would use its clout over Iran to “help secure the withdrawal of Iranian troops from Syria.”

READ MORE: NATO Reportedly Alarmed Over Future 'Uncoordinated' Trump-Putin Agreements

The source further claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to convince his British counterpart Theresa May and Trump that they needed Putin’s help.

The report echoes former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s remarks, who said that European officials were “scared to death” because of concerns that Trump would act unpredictably and prefer to follow through with his “America First” approach.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, foreground walks by French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they gather with NATO member leaders to pose for a group photo, prior to the start of their summit in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, May 25, 2017. - Sputnik International
World
Europe 'Scared to Death' Due to 'Unpredictable' Trump – Ex-Pentagon Chief
With tensions already high between the US and its European allies, President Trump sent letters to the leaders of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands last week, stressing that they had failed to meet their defense spending obligations.

Moscow and Washington are now preparing for the first full-scale summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, set to take place on July 16 in Helsinki.

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