"Neutrality has no future in light of the new geopolitical situation," said John Bolton in an interview on Sunday.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: John Bolton insists Switzerland should join NATO
Switzerland should join NATO, as in the future it cannot rely on its long-standing tradition of neutrality for its defence, John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, declared in an interview on Sunday.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Italiano
it
Bolton: “Svizzera deve entrare nella Nato, neutralità senza futuro”
Original
“Trump will pick up where he left off four years ago,” the 75-year-old said in an interview published on Sunday by the SonntagsBlick newspaper. “He did a lot of damage in his first term. The second term will probably be even worse. Now Trump wants to realise all his radical ideas.”
Transatlantic relations will be put to the test, both economically and militarily, the Republican politician added.
“Trump has announced new tariffs of up to 20% on imports from Europe. The European Union should prepare for this eventuality, and I hear it is doing so. The last thing we need now is a trade war that has a negative impact on the global economy,” he said.
Militarily, Trump may then want to abandon the North Atlantic Treaty, he went on.
“I was with him at the 2018 NATO summit in Brussels. He was on the verge of it at the time. He wants to leave NATO: depending on the course of the war in Ukraine, he might go all the way this time,” he said.
“One has to know Trump only does what he thinks is most beneficial to him. He does not understand what common defence means. He believes that the United States defends Europe without being paid to do so.”
The former US ambassador to the United Nations urged European countries to spend more on defence.
“However, it seems clear to me that NATO is an important and, above all, functioning alliance that provides greater security for all members, including the United States,” he said.
“Switzerland should join NATO. I don’t want to get involved in your political debates, but I really believe it would be the best thing to do. Neutrality has no future in light of the new geopolitical situation. Even Sweden and Finland gave up their neutrality because they understood that they were only safe behind the NATO border.”
Translated from Italian by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
Heimatort, sweet Heimatort: the unique Swiss concept of home
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
This content was published on
French and Swiss armoured and artillery units will train together to strengthen the defence capabilities of the Swiss army.
Harmful substances in particulate matter underestimated: Swiss research
This content was published on
Measurements significantly underestimate the amount of harmful substances in particulate matter, says an international research team under Swiss leadership.
Switzerland reopens its humanitarian office in Kabul
This content was published on
Switzerland opened its humanitarian office in Kabul in mid-March to provide targeted aid to the Afghan population in distress.
This content was published on
From Wednesday, a Swiss passport will no longer be sufficient to enter the UK - Swiss travellers will also need an electronic travel authorisation.
This content was published on
A German security expert could imagine Swiss soldiers being part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire.
Leading Swiss politician favours closer EU defence ties
This content was published on
Co-president of Swiss centre-left Social Democratic Party calls on Switzerland to step up security cooperation in Europe.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.