At the Warsaw Security Forum, former deputy national security adviser in the Biden administration, John Finer, accused the current White House leadership of pursuing policies that, in his view, have only made Russia and China more determined.

Finer argued that this explains why, in recent months, Moscow has begun «testing NATO’s strength.» He said he did not believe Russia wanted a war with NATO, nor that it was seeking one. Rather, Moscow was trying to push as far as possible in order to make NATO countries «pay» for their support of Ukraine-without crossing into full-scale conflict. He described this as a deliberate test for the alliance.

Turning to China, Finer observed that Beijing is seeking to draw the Trump administration into negotiations to see whether a major deal between the U.S. and China is possible, while simultaneously exerting pressure on America’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

He concluded by noting that much had changed in the global environment, and that in his view, this was connected to a shift in how the United States now perceives the world and its structure.