If U.S. cuts military presence in Europe, China will offer its "nuclear umbrella" – expert

This opinion was shared by Viktor Shlinchak, chairman of the board at the Institute of World Politics, during a broadcast on Espreso TV.

"Geopolitical power will now shift, because there are no vacuums in politics. If the U.S. pulls back from Europe or shows signs of reducing its military presence, China will, sooner or later, offer its own 'nuclear umbrella' — security guarantees the U.S. used to provide," he said.

Right now, the United States is going through a phase of state-level isolation, he added.

"On one hand, they tried to weaken China and make the world see it as a clear threat. On the other hand, after imposing tariffs, countries were stunned by the U.S. approach and have actually turned against it. This situation gives many global leaders a reason to rethink their relationship with the U.S., the White House, and its officials. The issue is trust: deals made today might not matter tomorrow. That makes negotiations harder and puts the stability of any agreement in doubt," Shlinchak explained.

Trump has created plenty of reasons to shift focus to domestic politics, which could end up pushing the Ukraine issue — and the war with Russia — onto the EU and European leaders who are willing to take the lead, Shlinchak said.

"During the election campaign, he said a lot of things, but many of those statements lost relevance within days," he added.

• On March 8, it was reported that Donald Trump is considering pulling about 35,000 U.S. troops out of Germany and moving them to Eastern European countries, including Hungary.
• Later, on April 8, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Defense said they’re reviewing a plan to cut the military presence in Eastern Europe by around 10,000 troops.
• On April 9, the Pentagon clarified that no official decision has been made yet on withdrawing American troops from Eastern European countries.
• European allies are urging the U.S. not to go through with the withdrawal, warning it could destabilize NATO defenses and weaken efforts to deter Russian aggression.