United States: Donald Trump, the former US President has said that he will encourage Russia to attack any NATO member that fails to pay its bills as part of the Western military alliance.
Trump stated that he would not protect a nation behind its payments and encourage aggressors to do as they please. NATO members are committed to defending any nation in the bloc that is attacked. The White House referred to the comments as “appalling and unhinged”.
During a rally in South Carolina, Mr. Trump stated that he had made comments about Russia during a NATO summit. Trump has recollected that the leader of a “big country” had shown hypothetical circumstances in which he was not satisfying his financial responsibilities within NATO and had come under Moscow’s attack.
Mr. Trump said that the leader asked if the US would assist his country, which led to a rebuke. The former president added that he replied to the leader that he would not protect them if they did not pay, in fact he would encourage Russia to do whatever they want.
A White House spokesman said that the comments of Trump were “encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes” and called them as “appalling and unhinged” words. The speaker added that the statement “endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home”.
Mr. Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican party in the upcoming US presidential election, has been a vocal critic of NATO for some time. The leader believes that the United States shoulders an unfair financial burden in ensuring the defence of 30 other nations within the organization.
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 after Trump left office. Trump criticized US aid to non-NATO member Ukraine. According to White House figures in December, the US has given Ukraine more financial aid than any other country – totalling more than $44 billion (£34 billion) since the 2022 invasion.
However, Republicans in Congress have blocked all new funding since the start of the year, demanding tougher measures to control immigration at the southern border with the US and then rejecting the amendment bill when it was introduced earlier this week.
The presidential candidate praised the rejection, saying President Biden’s proposals were “disastrous.” The two issues have now been successfully separated, meaning senators can now debate aid funding separately.
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