NATO leader says Trump has put allies at risk by saying Russia can ‘do whatever it wants’
The head of the NATO military alliance warned on Sunday that Donald Trump is endangering the safety of US troops and their allies, as the Republican presidential contender said Russia should do “whatever they want” to NATO members. Must be able to. They are not able to meet their defense expenditure targets.
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other would undermine our entire security, including that of the United States, and put American and European troops at risk,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday, Trump recalled how as president he told an unnamed NATO member that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it pleases in the affairs of NATO allies. , who are “criminals”.
“‘You didn’t pay? You’re a criminal?'” Trump said, reiterating his point. “No, I will not protect you. In fact, I will encourage them to do whatever they want. You Gotta pay. You got to pay your bills.”
Trump’s comments sparked deep concern in Poland, which was under Russian control for centuries, and where concerns are high about Russia waging a war across the Polish border in Ukraine.
“There is a hot war going on on our border,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday, expressing concern over whether the United States “will show full solidarity with other NATO countries in this confrontation with Russia.” “Promises to last a long time.”
“We must realize that the EU cannot be an economic and civilizational giant and a dwarf in terms of defence, as the world is,” he argued in a town hall speech launching his party’s campaign for local elections this spring. Has changed.”
In 2014, the NATO allies pledged to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense by 2024. According to NATO projections for early 2023, 10 of its 30 member states at that time were near or above 2% spending, while 13 were. 1.5% or less.
No country is indebted to any other or to NATO.
Stoltenberg said he hoped that, “no matter who wins the presidential election, the United States will remain a strong and committed NATO ally.”
The German government did not officially comment on Trump’s comments, but its Foreign Office pointed to NATO’s solidarity principle in a statement on Twitter.
“‘All for one and one for all.’ “This NATO mandate protects more than 950 million people,” it said.
Trump’s comments were of particular concern to NATO frontline countries, such as Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which were either under Moscow’s control or fully incorporated into the Soviet Union during the Cold War. . Fear has especially increased in view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with the right-wing opposition, and who was considered favorable to Trump during his presidency, tweeted that the Polish-American alliance should be strong “regardless of what is currently happening between Poland and Who is in power in the United States.” ,
He warned: “Offending half of the American political landscape is useful neither to our economic interests nor to Poland’s security.”
In an editorial on Sunday, the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also called on European countries to spend more on defence.
It said that if Trump wins the presidency again, the statement he made on Saturday night will increase Putin’s risk of expanding the war. There is only one thing Europeans can do to counter this: finally invest in their military security commensurate with the gravity of the situation.
Trump’s tenure, which was marked by his open praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, became an almost non-existent challenge to NATO, an organization largely controlled by the United States. The possibility that Trump could return to power remains a deep concern among allies.
Stoltenberg was praised for his diplomatic skills in keeping NATO together during the Trump years, but the former Norwegian prime minister is stepping down. His successor is likely to be announced when allied leaders meet in Washington for NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in July.
Under NATO’s mutual defense clause, Article 5 of its founding treaty, all allies are committed to helping any member that comes under attack. This article has been activated only once – by the US in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
NATO has launched its largest military build-up since the Cold War following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – The Associated Press)