NATO responds to Trump’s willingness to encourage Russia to attack North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries

2024-02-11 19:10:00

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was quick to respond to Donald Trump, following his thunderous declarations this Saturday on the end of American protection to NATO countries which were not paying their share. he was re-elected to the White House. All while even adding that he “ would encourage » Moscow to attack them. Comments which aroused indignation in the European countries of the alliance but also a response from Jens Stotenberg, obliged to recall the main principles of NATO: “ Any suggestion that Allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the United States, and places American and European soldiers at increased risk. “, he said in a press release. For Jens Stoltenberg, there is no hesitation: “ Any attack on NATO would provoke a united and powerful response ».

Article 5

For the President of the European Council Charles Michel, “ reckless statements on NATO security and Article 5 solidarity only serve Putin’s interests » et « bring neither more security nor more peace to the world “. Article 5 states that if a NATO country is the victim of an armed attack, each member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack directed once morest all members and will take the measures it deemed necessary to come to the aid of the attacked country.

« Rather than calling for war and promoting chaos, President Biden will continue to support American leadership », For his part declared Andrew Bates, spokesperson for the White House, adding that “ encouraging the invasion of our closest allies by murderous regimes ” was ” appalling and insane ».

During a meeting in South Carolina on Saturday, Donald Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the November presidential election in the United States, recounted a meeting with heads of state and government of NATO then that he was in office.

An exchange with Ursula Von der Leyen

« One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said: well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us? “, recounted the former Republican president before claiming to have responded: “ No, I won’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay your bills “. The former American president regularly accused his NATO allies of not contributing enough to the budget of the Atlantic Alliance. During the campaign, he had already threatened several times to leave NATO if he returned to the White House.

The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, clarified on LCI on Sunday that Donald Trump was in fact referring to an exchange in 2020 with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, on the subject of the defense of the European Union .

Donald Trump’s last rival in the Republican primaries, Nikki Haley, denounced the ex-president’s rhetoric.

« Let’s not take the side of a bully who kills his opponents “, she said, referring to Vladimir Putin. “We want NATO allies to pay their share, but there are ways to get that without (…) saying to Russia: ‘do what you want with these countries’,” he said. she added.

Trump pushes to derail aid to Ukraine

Donald Trump, who maintains a significant hold on the Republican Party, has put pressure on his camp’s elected representatives in Congress in recent weeks to bury a bill providing for the payment of new aid to Ukraine, but also to Israel and Taiwan, as well as a reform of migration policy. Amounting to $95 billion, the bill will be debated next week.

The majority of these funds would go to Ukraine to replenish its stocks of ammunition, weapons and other essential needs as the country enters a third year of war.