Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy “changes the main parameters of transatlantic cooperation” and could leave Europe weaker, more divided and exposed to Russian pressure, former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has warned. Speaking in an interview with TVP World’s On the Record, Landsbergis said the strategy is not an isolated document but part of a pattern. He pointed to Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech in Munich, Trump’s red-carpet treatment of Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and a controversial peace plan for Ukraine that “for many in Europe looked like it’s written in Kremlin rather than in Washington.” Taken together, he argued, they show that “U.S. position vis-à-vis Europe is changing.” The new National Security Strategy criticizes European allies over Ukraine, migration and defense spending, despite EU states having increased their military budgets and tightened border rules. For Landsbergis, the most dangerous element is the implicit preference for a weaker, fragmented Europe, even while Washington expects the continent to shoulder more of its own defense as the U.S. pivots to the Indo-Pacific. “It’s as if the United States wants a weaker Europe because a divided Europe will always be weaker,” he said, warning that empowering spoiler states such as Hungary would only deepen EU dependence on Russian energy and paralyze decision-making. Lithuania balloons crisis The interview came as Lithuania declared a state of emergency following a surge in suspected Russian and Belarusian hybrid attacks, from airspace-violating balloons to attempted sabotage on rail lines. Citing recent plots detailed by European intelligence services, Landsbergis argued that the line between hybrid pressure and open aggression is becoming dangerously thin. A deadly derailment caused by Russian agents on NATO territory, he said, “could potentially be an Article Five situation,” in the alliance could mount a joint response. With NATO struggling to craft a firm response to such incidents, Landsbergis floated closer regional cooperation among frontline states—a kind of “NATO within NATO” focused on hybrid threats around the Baltic Sea. But he insisted this must be a complement, not a substitute, for the alliance. “Hope is not the best strategy,” he said. Europe, in his view, now faces a crisis moment on par with the creation of Schengen or the single currency—and must quickly decide how to defend itself if Washington continues to step back.
