By VANESSA GERA and LORNE COOK (Associated Press)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The head of the NATO navy alliance warned Sunday that Donald Trump was placing the security of U.S. troops and their allies in danger after the Republican presidential front-runner mentioned Russia ought to have the ability to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who don’t meet their protection spending targets.
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg mentioned in a press release.
Speaking Saturday at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recalled how as president he advised an unidentified NATO member that he would “encourage” Russia to do because it needs in instances of NATO allies who’re “delinquent.”
“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying. “‘No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”
Trump’s remarks precipitated deep concern in Poland, which was below Russian management in previous centuries, and the place anxieties are excessive over the battle Russia is waging simply throughout the Polish border in Ukraine.
“We have a hot war at our border,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned Sunday, voicing considerations about whether or not the United States will present “full solidarity with other NATO countries in this confrontation that promises to last for a long time with Russia.”
“We must realize that the EU cannot be an economic and civilizational giant and a dwarf when it comes to defense, because the world has changed,” he argued in a city corridor speech marking the beginning of his get together’s marketing campaign for native elections this spring.
In 2014, NATO allies pledged to maneuver towards spending 2% of GDP on protection by 2024. According to NATO estimates in early 2023, 10 of its 30 member states on the time have been near or above the two% mark, whereas 13 have been spending 1.5% or much less.
No nation is in debt to some other, or to NATO.
Stoltenberg mentioned he expects that, “regardless of who wins the presidential election, the U.S. will remain a strong and committed NATO ally.”
The German authorities didn’t formally touch upon Trump’s remarks, however its overseas workplace identified NATO’s solidarity precept in a press release on X, previously Twitter.
“‘One for all and all for one.’ This NATO creed keeps more than 950 million people safe,” it mentioned.
Trump’s feedback have been of explicit concern to NATO’s front-line international locations, like Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which have been both below the management of Moscow or absolutely integrated into the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War. Fears there run particularly excessive given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who’s allied with the right-wing opposition, and who was seen as pleasant to Trump throughout his presidency, tweeted that the Polish-U.S. alliance have to be robust “regardless of who is currently in power in Poland and the USA.”
He warned: “Offending half of the American political scene serves neither our economic interests nor Poland’s security.”
In an editorial Sunday, German day by day Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung additionally known as for European nations to spend extra on protection.
It mentioned that if Trump wins the presidency once more, statements just like the one he made on Saturday evening “will increase the risk of Putin expanding his war. Europeans can only do one thing to counter this: finally invest in their military security in line with the seriousness of the situation.”
Trump’s tenure, which was marked by his open admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, grew to become a near-existential problem for NATO, a company largely managed by the United States. The prospect that Trump may return to energy stays a deep concern amongst allies.
Stoltenberg was praised for his diplomatic abilities in holding NATO collectively throughout the Trump years, however the former Norwegian prime minister is stepping down. His successor is prone to be introduced by the point allied leaders meet in Washington for NATO’s seventy fifth anniversary summit in July.
Under NATO’s mutual protection clause, Article 5 of its founding treaty, all allies commit to assist any member who comes below assault. The article has solely ever been activated as soon as – by the U.S. within the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, assaults.
NATO has undertaken its greatest navy buildup for the reason that Cold War since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press author Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”