10:41 06-12-2025

Lukyanov: New U.S. Doctrine Signals Shift in NATO Strategy

Fyodor Lukyanov says the updated U.S. security doctrine abandons the idea of endless NATO expansion and reflects Washington’s shift toward “hard egoism” in global politics.

Washington’s new National Security Doctrine reflects a fundamentally different approach to NATO’s role, said Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, in a comment to RIA Novosti.

On Friday, the White House released an updated version of the U. S. National Security Doctrine. According to Lukyanov, the document radically revises Washington’s position on several key issues in international relations. He drew attention to the fact that, for the first time, the text explicitly states something that until recently would have been unthinkable: the North Atlantic Alliance, it says, should not be an organization aimed at endless expansion.

Lukyanov noted that since the end of the Cold War, the idea of continual enlargement had effectively become a dogma in the West, one that no one questioned.

He also recalled that Western media repeatedly reported on U. S. President Donald Trump’s intention to withdraw the country from NATO altogether. Now, however, Lukyanov said, Washington does not appear to be planning an exit, but believes the alliance should avoid taking on excessive risks. As an example, he pointed to the situation in Ukraine, which, in his view, clearly demonstrated that attempts to expand NATO carry significant threats to security and stability.

On December 5, the White House published the new U. S. National Security Doctrine. References to Russia as a direct threat to the United States were removed from the document, which outlines the foundations of American foreign policy. The updated strategy also revises U.S. approaches to several major issues in international affairs.

Lukyanov described these changes as generally positive for Russia, arguing that the previous system had become unacceptable for Moscow for a number of reasons and that its crisis ultimately led to military conflict. Therefore, he said, it is good that this system is now receding.

At the same time, he emphasized that the shift has another dimension. In particular, the United States is moving toward what he described as a position of «hard egoism.» According to him, Washington will now pursue its interests in blunt and unapologetic ways. At the current stage, Lukyanov added, the U.S. simply has fewer such interests related to Russia than it does regarding China or the countries of the European Union.