Macron Says NATO Should Shift Its Focus Away From Russia

(Bloomberg) --

French President Emmanuel Macron urged NATO leaders to review the alliance’s strategy when they meet in London next week and said it should focus on the threat from terrorism rather than Russia.

“Is our enemy today Russia? Or China? Is it the goal of NATO to designate them as enemies? I don’t believe so,” Macron said at a joint news conference in Paris alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Our common enemy today in NATO is terrorism, which has hit each of our countries.”

France is looking to shake up the 70-year-old military alliance created to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. Macron alarmed his European allies this month by declaring he wants improved relations with Vladimir Putin despite the aggression in Ukraine that has seen Russia excluded from global forums like the Group of Seven.

“NATO is a collective defense alliance,” Macron said. “Who is our common enemy? What are our common issues? -- these are questions that deserve clarification.”

Macron’s warnings have divided the alliance with other leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel, pushing back. Merkel on Wednesday said Europe is too weak to defend itself alone without backup from NATO.

While Macron was calling for a wholesale review of NATO’s objectives when leaders gather next week, Stoltenberg, standing next to him, insisted the “foundations” of the alliance are strong.

But he accepted that members’ “rights and duties” will be up for discussion in London and said that Turkey in particular may face criticism.

“Turkey’s military operation in northeastern Syria has raised real questions,” he said, since it had handed NATO a “fait accompli” that jeopardized the alliance’s efforts in the region.

Macron also made a veiled criticism of Turkey for buying a Russian missile-defense system, stressing how important it is for weapons systems of NATO members to work together.

The French president drew fire earlier this month for saying NATO was “brain dead” and its core collective defense commitments in doubt. On Thursday, he said he stood by those comments and said he would be satisfied if they served as “a wake-up call” to his allies.

France has been pushing for Europe to build up its own defense capabilities and a more independent foreign policy, rather than relying on the U.S. and NATO. Those proposals have found some support in Germany and elsewhere.

To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo

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