Russia welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy as “broadly consistent” with Moscow’s vision.
A 33-page document released by the U.S. administration this week suggests Europe faces “civilization erasure” and does not characterize Russia as a threat to the United States.
Fighting foreign influence, ending mass migration and rejecting the EU’s “censorship” practices were cited as other priorities in the report.
Some EU officials and analysts have pushed back on this strategy, questioning its focus on freedom of expression and likening it to language used by the Kremlin.
“The adjustments we are seeing are broadly consistent with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview published Sunday by Russian state news agency Tass.
“We think this is a positive step,” he said, adding that Moscow would continue to analyze the documents before drawing strong conclusions.
The strategy adopts softer language toward Russia, which EU officials fear could weaken its stance toward Russia as it pushes to end the war in Ukraine.
The document accuses the European Union of blocking U.S. efforts to end the conflict and says Washington must re-establish strategic stability vis-à-vis Russia to stabilize Europe’s economy.
It appears to support efforts to influence policies on the continent, noting that U.S. policy should prioritize “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European countries.”
The new report also calls for a restoration of “Western identity,” argues that Europe “will become unrecognizable within 20 years” and that Europe’s economic problems are “overshadowed by the real and more palpable prospect of civilizational annihilation.”
“It is not clear whether certain European countries will have a strong enough economy and military to remain reliable allies,” the document states.
In contrast, the document praises the influence of “patriotic European parties” and says “the United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote a revival of this spirit.”
As the European Union (EU) continues talks with the Trump administration to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine, some officials have raised ‘questions’ about the document and emphasized continued relations with the United States.
“The United States will remain the most important ally in the (NATO) alliance, but this alliance is focused on solving security policy issues,” German Foreign Minister Johan Waddeful said Friday.
“I don’t think the issues of freedom of expression or the organization of a free society are part of (the strategy), at least in the case of Germany.”
In a social media post to his “American friends,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said “Europe is your closest ally, not your problem,” and referred to a “common enemy.”
“This is the only reasonable strategy for our common security. Unless something changes.”
Meanwhile, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote that the document is “to the right of the extreme right.”
The United States is getting closer to the German far-right party AfD, which German intelligence agencies classify as far-right.
The strategy promotes an “America First” message and says the United States plans to target suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific considering possible military action in Venezuela.
The United States is also demanding increased defense spending from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan.
Democrats in Congress have warned that the document could shatter America’s foreign relations.
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who sits on a House committee that oversees intelligence and the military, called the strategy “a disaster for America’s standing in the world.”
“It undoes decades of values-based American leadership,” said New York State Representative Gregory Meeks.
