Washington, Feb 28 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said that he supports NATO’s Article V clause that obliges members of the alliance to come to each other’s defence.
Trump’s statement, made during a joint news conference on Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, comes as both leaders engage in high-level discussions about the future of peace in Europe and as Trump has repeatedly called into question the strength of some of America’s most enduring treaties and alliances.
Article V includes an obligation for NATO members to come to each other’s defence in case of an attack.
He was asked about the clause in the context of if European peacekeepers end up in Ukraine as part of a peace-keeping force following a ceasefire.
“I support it,” Trump said.
“I don’t think we’re going to have any reason for it, I think we’re going to have a very successful peace, and I think it’s going to be a long-lasting peace, and I think it’s going to happen, hopefully quickly.”
He added: “If it doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all.”
Trump’s previous comments about the mutual-defence clause sparked alarm among some of the US’s closest allies.
Trump last year said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO member countries who don’t meet defence-spending obligations.
“‘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.'”
NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward spending two per cent of their GDPs on defence by 2024.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded, saying that: “Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home.”
Trump’s comments come as Ukraine remains mired in its efforts to stave off Russia’s 2022 invasion and as Republicans in Congress have become increasingly skeptical of providing additional aid money to the country as it struggles with stalled counteroffensives and weapons shortfalls.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump alarmed Western allies by warning that the United States, under his leadership, might abandon its NATO treaty commitments and only come to the defence of countries that meet the alliance’s guidelines by committing two per cent of their gross domestic products to military spending.
Trump, as President, eventually endorsed NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all members. But he often depicted NATO allies as leeches on the US military and openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.
As of 2022, NATO reported that seven of what are now 31 NATO member countries were meeting that obligation — up from three in 2014. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has spurred additional military spending by some NATO members.
–IANS
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