Trump comments put US and European troops at increased risk, Nato chief says
US and European troops are "at increased risk" following Donald Trump's comments suggesting he might encourage Russia to attack members of the alliance who do not pay enough to Nato.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has criticised the former US president for saying he would not protect any Nato member from a Russian attack who failed to meet the alliance's target of 2% of their GDP.
During a political rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Mr Trump complained about what he called "delinquent" payments by some Nato countries.
He recounted what he said was a past conversation with the head of "a big country" about an attack by Russia on such countries whose contribution to Nato were lagging behind.
'You gotta pay'
Mr Trump said he told the unnamed leader: "No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay."
The remarks made by the former US president provoked rebukes from the White House, which called them "appalling and unhinged".
The failure of many of Nato's 31 members to meet a defence spending target of at least 2% of gross domestic product has been a source of tension with the US, whose armed forces form the core of the alliance's military power.
Nato estimates have shown that, currently, only 11 members are spending at the target level. This is, however, a bump up from 2022, when just seven allies cleared the spending threshold.
According to alliance calculations in 2023, the UK, the US, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, and Slovakia were the only nations to spend over the 2% target of their gross domestic product on defence.
Germany, Norway and France are among the 19 of its 30 member nations that are spending below the target of 2%.
Mr Trump's lone remaining challenger for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Governor Nikki Haley, said: "The last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia."
She told CBS: "Don't take the side of someone who has gone and invaded a country and half a million people have died or been wounded because of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin" in his war against Ukraine.
Politico reported that Republican Senator Thom Tillis blamed Trump aides for failing to explain to the former president that the US, as a Nato member, is committed to defending any member of the alliance that is attacked.
It also quoted Republican Senator Rand Paul who said Mr Trump's remarks were a "stupid thing to say".
Nato 'ready and able'
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Stoltenberg highlighted that the alliance remains "ready and able to defend all allies" and that any attack "will be met with a united and forceful response".
He said: "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. I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the US will remain a strong and committed Nato ally."
Lord Peter Ricketts, a diplomat of more than 40 years' experience, who previously served as the permanent representative to Nato in Brussels, wrote on X: "Not very plausible that the president of a 'big' European country would ask him that (or call him sir!).
"Trump seems to think that Nato is like a country club: you pay 2% of your GDP to the US which then provides defence services. Deeply corrosive of trust among Nato allies."
The principle of collective defence is at the heart of the North Atlantic Treaty – Nato's founding treaty, binding together its 30 member countries.
In 1949, the primary aim for the creation of Nato was to create a pact of mutual assistance in response to the threat that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.
Under Article 5 "the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all".
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