Finnish president says US will remain in NATO

Visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in Vilnius on Friday that the United States will not leave NATO, arguing that continued membership is firmly in Washington’s own strategic interest.

“The US is not going to leave the Alliance. The United States will continue to work in NATO. Why? Because it is in their own fundamental interest. So let’s stop the empty talk about it,” Stubb told a Finnish-Lithuanian business forum.

He said US military bases in Europe are essential for Washington’s ability to project power globally.

“America needs Europe,” he said. “US bases in Europe, whether Ramstein or elsewhere, are a sine qua non [essential condition – LRT] for the United States to be able to project its military power globally, especially in the Middle East, Asia or Africa.”

Stubb also pointed to Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a central security concern for the United States and NATO.