“The July 2018 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit will test whether the trans-Atlantic alliance can produce a unified, sustainable position on Russia which, if embraced by United States President Donald Trump, would act as the defining prequel for his proposed bilateral sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vienna.

The July 2018 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit will test whether the trans-Atlantic alliance can produce a unified, sustainable position on Russia which, if embraced by United States President Donald Trump, would act as the defining prequel for his proposed bilateral sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vienna. The NATO meeting in Belgium, however, is likely to accentuate growing divergence among the allies as to their assessment of the threat Russia poses to the Euro-Atlantic community. The G-7 summit in Canada was a useful trial run—in which significant differences over Russia were patched over in the search for a vague consensus statement...”

Excerpt from The National Interest, June 27, 2018.

This article reflects the views of the author and are not necessarily the official policy of the United States, Germany, or any other governments.