WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States currently shoulders approximately 75 percent of NATO’s defense spending. Outside of the United States, only four other members of the 28-nation bloc spend the required 2 percent of GDP on defense.
"I could think of no greater gift to Russia and no greater strategic vulnerability for the United States in the Euro-Atlantic area than that course of action," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia and Eurasia Michael Carpenter said on Tuesday.
The presumptive Republican nominee for US president, Donald Trump, has proposed the United States rethink its role in NATO, where it pays for the overwhelming majority of the alliance’s collective defense. Trump further suggested that the 70-year-old alliance is "obsolete" and does not help US security.
"NATO is needed now more than ever," Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland told the Senate panel.
Despite Trump’s comments on the campaign trail, both Nuland and Carpenter said that US allies doubt the seriousness of the threatened US withdrawal of support for NATO.
"In my conversations with my counterparts… I have heard significant concern, but I think a lot of our partners believe that we will remain committed members of NATO," Carpenter noted.
