The story so far:Last week, in an interview to the British newspaper, U.S. President Donald Trump said withdrawing U.S. membership from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is now “beyond reconsideration”. A betrayal foretold: On the U.S. and NATO allianceWhy is Mr. Trump angry with NATO? The seeds of U.S. discontent with NATO had been planted by Mr. Trump ever since his first term as President, when he announced that NATO was “obsolete”. He criticised European allies for not pulling their weight in military expenditure while depending on the U.S. for their defence. It is therefore more likely that both the U.S. and its NATO allies will work to avoid such a drastic step, beginning with the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Washington on April 8.

Source: The Hindu April 05, 2026 11:55 UTC