(OPINION) A senior NATO military official suggested on Saturday that any peace deal negotiated by President-elect Donald J. Trump that allowed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to claim victory in Ukraine would undermine the interests of the United States.
In a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of a European defense summit in Prague, Adm. Rob Bauer, the Dutch chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, said:
“If you allow a nation like Russia to win, to come out of this as the victor, then what does it mean for other autocratic states in the world where the U.S. has also interests?”
He added: “It’s important enough to talk about Ukraine on its own, but there is more at stake than just Ukraine.”
Mr. Trump has said repeatedly that he could end the war in Ukraine in a day, without saying how. A settlement outlined by Vice President-elect JD Vance in September echoes what people close to the Kremlin say Mr. Putin wants: allowing Russia to keep the territory it has captured and guaranteeing that Ukraine will not join NATO.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump’s transition team, Karoline Leavitt, said he was re-elected because the American people “trust him to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world.”
“When he returns to the White House, he will take the necessary actions to do just that,” Ms. Leavitt said on Saturday.
Mr. Trump has long been critical of the aid that the United States has sent to Ukraine — more than $100 billion since February 2022, most of it in weapons and military support — and in a podcast last month blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion that started a war the president-elect described as “a loser.”
Admiral Bauer would not discuss the proposals that the incoming Trump administration has floated, saying he wanted to wait and see what the former president would do upon his return. “I think that it’s also important to not jump to conclusions based on what he has said so far,” he said.
NATO was created in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union’s threat to the West, and Mr. Putin has long warned the alliance against expanding too close to Russia’s borders.
The United States is one of NATO’s founding members, and its support was never in doubt until Mr. Trump raised the possibility during his first term that he might try to withdraw from the alliance and accused its other members of failing to pay their fair share of defense costs.
Admiral Bauer, who is NATO’s most senior military officer, also warned of the significant geopolitical ramifications of North Korea sending troops and weapons to support Russia against Ukraine.
“The most isolated country in the world has now suddenly become a player,” he said.
If North Korea’s help on the battlefield gives Mr. Putin a stronger hand in negotiations, Admiral Bauer said other authoritarian leaders may be similarly encouraged to violate international rules upholding territorial sovereignty and economic sanctions.
