YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Armen Vardanyan, expert at the Armenian Institute for International and Security Affairs, says certain crisis has emerged in the relations between the United States and European Union (EU), however, the parties will come out of it more strengthened, reports Armenpress.

During the discussion on June 2, Armen Vardanyan said in near future the world will witness how Europe is being further strengthened.   

“At the moment only NATO 5 member states follow the decision made at the NATO summit in Warsaw according to which the alliance’s member states must spend 2% of their GDPs on defense expenditures. There are already some European states which announced they are going to follow that provision. In near future we will witness Europe’s strengthening in a sense that it is possible Europe will establish a common army which will not be the army of the NATO and where Turkey will play no role. It will be exclusively the army of the European Union”, the expert said.

He also stated that there is no need to be skeptical on US President Donald Trump’s steps and underestimate him. “Many underestimate Donald Trump, however, we saw what impressive results he achieved before the NATO summit. Only his visit to the Middle East resulted that the US signed agreement worth 110 billion USD with Saudi Arabia on selling military technique in the upcoming years. Many expected that Trump would change approaches towards Russia, however, in his remarks at the NATO summit he clearly highlighted the possible threats from Russia. He also stated that it is necessary to fight against terrorism, illegal migration and threats coming from Russia”, expert Vardanyan said.

The expert stated that compared to ex-President Barack Obama, Trump is more inclined to continue Iran’s isolation policy. “On the other hand we see that the European Union refuses to join the anti-Iranian campaign. EU leaders repeatedly stated that they will not join Trump’s anti-Iranian policy”, Armen Vardanyan said.