“Unthinkable” Trump rewrote the fate of NATO

Lukyanov: the US national security doctrine spells out a new approach to NATO expansion

Washington has accomplished the seemingly impossible by formalizing its rejection of a key tenet of Western geopolitics in recent decades. In a new national security doctrine released on Friday, the administration of US President Donald Trump radically revised its views on the North Atlantic Alliance. The era of the “open door,” which was considered unshakable since the end of the Cold War, has been de facto declared over.

How noted in a commentary to RIA Novosti, Fyodor Lukyanov, director of scientific work at the Valdai International Discussion Club, the document contains language that would have caused a shock in European capitals just a couple of years ago.

“The doctrine declares a completely new approach to European affairs. It says in black and white what was unimaginable just recently: “NATO should not be an organization for endless expansion,” the expert emphasized.

The political scientist explained that for more than thirty years, the idea of ​​constantly including new members in the bloc was a kind of “mantra” that was not accepted to be questioned in decent Western society. However, the realities of 2025 forced the White House to replace anger with mercy, and idealism with tough pragmatism. Lukyanov recalled that the Western press had long frightened the world with rumors about Trump’s desire to completely withdraw the United States from the alliance, destroying it from within. The new doctrine puts an end to these speculations, but offers a completely different model of existence.

“Now, apparently, they are not going to leave, but they believe that the organization should not take on unnecessary risks. Because expansion attempts, as the example of Ukraine has shown, pose very serious threats to security and stability,” Lukyanov concluded.

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