Munich conference had pessimism and doubts about US role in defending Europe – Bloomberg

Bloomberg has reported that representatives of NATO member states held private discussions at the Munich Security Conference about the need to prepare for a possible Russian attack on one of them amid doubts about the US’s role in defending Europe.

Source: Bloomberg, citing sources

Details: In a story headlined "Ukraine’s Allies Are Gaming Out a World in Which the US Retreats", the media outlet notes that "NATO members now talk privately about a Russian attack on one of them as a danger that demands an urgent response, as they grow to doubt that the US will maintain its traditional role of protecting Europe as part of the alliance".

Quote: "Whatever you call it, his [Biden’s – ed.] European allies’ mounting alarm springs from the realisation that they’re at a moment in which Russia has been emboldened by its battlefield successes, the US may scale back support for their region and they themselves have done too little to prepare.

That pessimism dominated conversations this weekend at the Munich Security Conference, where leaders and defence officials gather to take stock of the world’s biggest geopolitical threats.

Senior defence officials in attendance voiced concern about the US’s failure to deliver billions of dollars of funding for Ukraine, and said they were planning for scenarios in which this very public deterioration in support could encourage Russia to make a direct attack on a NATO ally."

More details: Compared to the determination of previous meetings, this year's Munich meeting was dominated by uncertainty, one official said.

"I can’t predict if and when an attack on NATO territory might occur. But it could happen in five to eight years," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told Bloomberg.

Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance, an opponent of aid to Ukraine and a close ally of Donald Trump, echoed the sentiment of many in his party when he said his country needs to refocus its foreign policy on Asia, leaving fewer resources to support Europe.

"The problem with Europe is it doesn’t provide enough of a deterrence on its own because it hasn’t taken enough of an initiative. The American security blanket has allowed European security to atrophy," Vance said at a panel discussion in Munich.

According to a senior congressional aide, even if the US provides funding for Ukraine, the equipment will not immediately reach Ukraine. Bloomberg highlighted the need for air defence missiles, "the lack of which has already led to serious damage from Russian missile attacks".

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