Estonian MP: No need to overdramatize Trump's NATO stance

TALLINN - While there was nothing positive in Donald Trump's words about NATO's collective defense, there is also no need to overdramatize his statements, according to Raimond Kaljulaid, head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

"Primarily, this is about US domestic politics. Trump did not make this statement in any official context. His campaign events are underway, which are rather more about entertainment than a place for serious politics. Trump tells his voters all kinds of things at these meetings," Kaljulaid said. He also pointed out that Trump's stance has always been that there is no need to defend allies who do not pay.

"What would that look like in practice? If Russia attacks a NATO country, all the others are immediately at war. It would be quite difficult for Russia to attack, for example, Germany and Belgium, whose defense spending is below 2 percent, without getting past Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, which spend over 2 percent. In fact, in the event of a Russian attack, previously agreed NATO collective defense plans would be activated and acted upon accordingly," he added.

Kaljulaid noted that there is a much bigger problem beside the individual questionable statements.

"A significant portion of US voters and the political elite support a candidate regarding whom it's simply unclear what he thinks and how he will act. This creates a lot of uncertainty. It gives the impression that the United States can no longer be counted on," he said. "The conclusion is still that Europe needs to be strategically autonomous and ready to defend itself against Russia, the economy of which is ten times smaller than that of the European Union," he said.