NATO Chief Condemns Trump’s Remarks

By Staff, Agencies

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned in a statement on Sunday that former US President Donald Trump’s disparaging comments about NATO members’ failure to meet their military spending commitments put the whole alliance at risk.

Speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump suggested that such countries should not receive US protection in the event of an attack.

Stoltenberg responded: “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” reiterating that the bloc remained “ready and able to defend all allies.”

Any attack on a NATO member country would trigger a “united and forceful response,” Stoltenberg pledged.

“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the US will remain a strong and committed NATO ally,” he added.

During his rally speech, Trump recalled a past conversation with the leader of an unnamed NATO state who supposedly asked what would happen if defense spending targets were not being met, and an external attack occurred.

“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” the former president said, recalling his response. “‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”

Following the former US leader's remarks, however, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed concern about the “hot war” at his country’s border with Ukraine, questioning whether the US would show “full solidarity with other NATO countries in this confrontation that promises to last for a long time with Russia.”

His words echoed Stoltenberg’s own in an interview with the German media outlet Die Welt on Sunday, in which the NATO chief urged members to ramp up arms production to wartime levels in order to prepare for a “confrontation” with Moscow “that could last decades.”