The Kremlin has welcomed Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy document and claimed it is “largely consistent with our vision”.
The US president unveiled a new framework for his administration’s foreign policy and defence priorities on Friday, at a time when many in Europe hold wider concerns that Washington has a pro-Russia bias.
The NSS largely ignores the threat Russia poses to the west and instead concentrates a lot of its content on targeting America’s allies in Europe.
It claims economic decline in the continent is “eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure” – while also claiming the EU’s activities “undermine political liberty and sovereignty”.
The NSS calls for the US to be “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations” and praises the “growing influence of patriotic European parties”.
Certain Nato members may become “majority non-European” because of immigration, according to the document, asking if those countries will “view their place in the world, or their alliance with the United States the same way as those who signed the Nato charter”.
It said negotiating an “expeditious” cessation of the war was a “core interest” of the US – even though the president’s own son, Donald Trump Jr, recently warned Trump may walk away from Ukraine.
The document argued managing European relations with Russia – which are “deeply attenuated” due to the Ukraine war – will need significant US diplomatic engagement to “mitigate the risk of conflict between Russia and European states”.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin: “The adjustments we’re seeing, I’d say, are largely consistent with our vision.”
He said Russia hoped this would be a “modest guarantee” they will be able to continue joint constructive work.
Moscow also supports the language used in the document, according to Peskov, which contained statements “against confrontation and in favour of dialogue and building good relations” with Russia.
He said: “Overall, these messages certainly contrast with the approaches of previous administrations.”
Since starting his second term in office, Trump’s administration has taken a much firmer stance towards Europe and a softer approach towards Russia.
His vice-president JD Vance shocked allies at the Munich Security Forum in February by claiming Europe faced a greater risk from its own democratic failings than from Russia – even though Putin continues to wage war in Ukraine.
Much like the new NSS, Vance said it was time for allies to step up defence spending and reduce their reliance on the US.
In response to the document, Polish president Donald Tusk said: “Dear American friends, Europe is your closest ally, not your problem. And we have common enemies. At least that’s how it has been in the last 80 years. We need to stick to this, this is the only reasonable strategy of our common security. Unless something has changed.”
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul also hit back, saying Europe did not “need outside advice”.
