Putin, Trump and Nato The "master of manipulation" and his "useful idiot"

For some, Nato is obsolete, while others emphasize the importance of transatlantic relations: Donald Trump's change of course on Ukraine policy is raising doubts among allies in Europe.

For Donald Trump's former security advisor Michael Flynn, NATO is "a thing of the past": the former US Army lieutenant general is certain that Vladimir Putin would use nuclear weapons - "if Russia felt threatened on its sovereign territory".

If Europe were to do something that appeared to threaten this sovereignty, "dangerous times" would dawn, the 66-year-old told the right-wing channel "Real America's Voice". When asked whether the US should leave Nato, the ex-military man replied: "Yes, I think Trump needs to put on the table that the US will leave Nato if the Europeans don't understand what's at stake here."

Flynn continues: "Maybe the usefulness and utility of NATO is exhausted at this point. Maybe NATO is a thing of the past and a new security architecture needs to be created." Trump should get closer to Putin: "We're talking about two of the largest nuclear weapons states in the world, two great nations, historically and culturally, and I think [Trump] needs to do that as well, as he has done."

"Vladimir Putin couldn't be happier"

Herbert Raymond McMaster was also once Trump's security advisor. However, this lieutenant general has a very different view of the new US president's course. "Vladimir Putin couldn't be happier," the 62-year-old tells CBS News."Because what he sees is all the pressure on Zelenskyi, all the pressure on Ukraine, and no pressure on him."

Referring to Trump's press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyi at the White House, McMaster says the discussion did not reflect the reality of the war. The conservative American addresses the human rights violations. The allies would now ask themselves how the New Yorker could have put down the Ukrainian in such a way while praising Putin to the skies.

Trump has "a tendency to say strange things", says McMaster. "Sometimes that's meant to shake up the situation and create a sense of change. But often he doesn't consider that his words are getting in the way of his own agenda, that his words are actually against US interests, or that they are perceived differently abroad than they are in the United States."

"Trump is currently Russia's most useful idiot"

One of the few of Trump's party comrades to criticize his security policy is Congressman Don Bacon. "America is the leader of the free world," says the former Air Force general. "We are an indispensable power. Nobody can take on Russia and China if we're not part of it. And Ukraine is the victim: Putin has made it clear that he wants the old borders back."

And that is not in the interests of the USA, the Republican explains: "For me, this is a question of national security, but also a moral question. If [Trump] says that Russia is not the aggressor and it's all Ukraine's fault, that's just wrong." Bacon worries about the Western alliance: "I fear that this framework will collapse."

McMaster calls Putin a "master manipulator" who is using his American counterpart. Marcus Keupp takes the same line. "Trump is currently Russia's most useful idiot. A Russian KGB agent couldn't do any better," the ETH military economist tells SRF.

"We need a plan that has three phases"

It's about more than Ukraine: "It's also about the Pax Americana - the supremacy of the USA. It stabilizes the world - even if some people don't like it." Europe must now face up to Putin: "Systems must now be pushed to the front so that Russian expansion is slowed down. Poland has understood this and is massively arming itself."

They are talking about war3 gloomy predictions for the future of NATO and the West

What should happen now? Selenskyj and Trump need to talk to each other again and conclude the raw materials deal, says the President of Finland. That could be the turning point, Alexander Stubb tells Bloomberg. And with a view to Europe and the war in Ukraine, he adds: "We need a plan that has three phases."

The first step would be to strengthen Kiev's negotiating position by imposing further sanctions on Russia and confiscating Russian assets abroad. "Then we need to find security arrangements where Ukraine takes the lead, Europe supports and the US provides the back-up."

Stubb: Putin only reinforces the language of strength

This first phase would be followed by the second with a ceasefire in order to conduct peace negotiations in the third phase. Due to the resistance of Hungary and Slovakia, Europe would have to form a "coalition of the willing", according to Stubb. On the other hand, the Finn has never seen the EU as united as it has been in the last ten years: It is "a bit cacophonous, but united".

With regard to the new US president, Stubb says: "I think the transatlantic relationship is changing. You have to analyze that and draw conclusions." In multilateral organizations such as the UN or the WTO, Washington and Brussels are no longer pulling in the same direction. However, "bilateral or regional alliances" are important. The Kremlin cannot be trusted: "The only thing Vladimir Putin understands is power. If you show any weakness, he will attack you."

While Stubb is optimistic about Nato and relations between Europe and the USA, former British diplomats are skeptical. They are so skeptical, in fact, that they are warning London: the government should no longer provide Washington with intelligence information, four former ambassadors to the US are demanding, according to the BBC.