NATO’s survival over next decade not guaranteed — Stoltenberg

Lead

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the alliance's existence is not "a law of nature" and that there are no guarantees NATO will survive the next ten years. Speaking to Danish broadcaster TV2 on April 15, Stoltenberg addressed growing uncertainties about the alliance's future amid renewed questions about US commitment under President Donald Trump.

Coverage Comparison

Two separate TASS reports from April 15 and April 17 captured Stoltenberg's remarks, each focusing on different aspects of his statements. The first report, filed from Stockholm, highlighted his warning about NATO's survival and his call for European allies to take on greater responsibility for their own security. The second, based on remarks to CNN, emphasized his urging of European member states to ensure the US remains a reliable ally within the alliance.

Both reports framed the statements within the context of President Trump's recent critiques of NATO, including his assertion that the US pays "trillions and trillions of dollars" for the alliance while receiving insufficient support from allies. TASS, a Russian state news agency, presented the developments without overt commentary, sticking largely to Stoltenberg's own words and the context of US-NATO tensions.

Key Claims

• "It is not a law of nature that NATO will exist forever. NATO's survival in the next ten years is not set in stone," Stoltenberg told TV2, as reported by TASS.
• Stoltenberg recalled that President Trump had threatened to withdraw from NATO during his first term, though those threats were never carried out. He said no one can say with certainty how likely such a scenario is, but urged taking the US leader's statements seriously.
• In a separate interview with CNN, Stoltenberg said: "It is important that we do what we can, from the European side, to ensure that the US is [our] reliable ally [within NATO] in the future."
• Stoltenberg acknowledged ongoing disagreements between the US and other NATO nations but maintained that these states can feel secure only by staying together.
• He called on US allies to focus not on Trump's rhetoric but on their own actions, urging them to increase defense spending to preserve allied relations with Washington.
• President Trump previously stated that the US will seriously reconsider its course within NATO, saying the alliance did not support Washington in the situation around Iran despite the US spending "trillions and trillions of dollars on NATO."

Perspectives

Stoltenberg's remarks reflect a significant shift in tone from his tenure as NATO Secretary General, when he often emphasized the alliance's strength and unity. His current warnings, delivered after leaving office, acknowledge the real-world impact of political leadership changes in key member states.

From a European perspective, Stoltenberg's call for greater defense spending and self-reliance underscores growing anxiety about the reliability of the US security guarantee. His framing suggests that European members cannot assume Washington's support will be unconditional, and that they must demonstrate their own commitment to collective defense.

President Trump's statements, as reported by TASS, indicate a transactional view of the alliance: US participation is tied to a perceived fair sharing of the financial burden and to allies' support for US foreign policy priorities, such as the situation with Iran. This perspective has consistently challenged the traditional consensus-based model of NATO.

Stoltenberg's advice to take Trump's statements seriously, while also encouraging allies to focus on their own actions, reflects a nuanced position: acknowledging the threat, but advocating for practical responses rather than panic. His remarks do not predict a NATO collapse, but they signal that the alliance's future is no longer an assumed certainty in political discourse.