The NATO chief said any attack on the military alliance would be met with a “unified” response.

Senior Western officials have criticized the former US president Donald Trump after suggesting that the U.S. might not protect NATO allies that don’t spend enough on defense from a possible Russian invasion.

“Any suggestion that allies would not defend each other undermines our overall security, including that of the United States, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a written statement.

“Any attack on NATO will be met with a united and forceful response,” he added.

On Saturday, Trump, who is likely to be the Republican candidate in this year’s US presidential election, told a political rally in South Carolina in the US that as president he had warned NATO allies that he would “encourage Russia to do this”. “do whatever the hell they want” with countries that are “criminal.”

Trump’s comments come as Ukraine remains bogged down in its efforts to repel Russia’s invasion in 2022 and at a time when Republicans in the US Congress have become increasingly skeptical about providing additional aid to the country , as the country struggles with stalled counteroffensives and weapons shortages.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also commented on Trump’s comments.

“The NATO motto “One for all, all for one” is a concrete commitment. “Undermining the credibility of allied countries means weakening the entire NATO,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

The NATO motto “One for all, all for one” is a concrete commitment. Undermining the credibility of allied countries means weakening the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization. No election campaign is an excuse to gamble with the security of the alliance.

— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) February 11, 2024

European Council President Charles Michel said: “Reckless statements on #NATO security and Article 5 solidarity are only expedient [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s interest.”

Article 5 of the NATO Treaty states that an armed attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all members of the alliance and triggers collective self-defense.

During Saturday’s political rally, Trump appeared to recount a meeting with NATO leaders and quoted the president of a “great country,” which he did not name, as asking, “Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we will.” “attacked by Russia – will you protect us?”

“I said, ‘You didn’t pay? Are you in default?’ He said, “Yeah, let’s say that happened.” No, I wouldn’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You have to pay.”

“We’ve heard this before… Nothing new under the sun,” EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with French television channel LCI, adding:

“Maybe he has problems with his memory. It was actually a president, not of a country, but of the European Union,” Breton said, referring to EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and a conversation she had with Trump in 2020.

“We cannot flip a coin about our security every four years depending on this or that election, namely the US presidential election,” Breton said, adding that EU leaders understood that the bloc had its own Must increase military spending and capacities.

Asked about Trump’s comments, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said: “The promotion of invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged – and it endangers America’s national security, global stability and our domestic economy. “

In a statement released Saturday, Bates said current U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking re-election in November, had restored U.S. alliances after taking office in 2021 and ensured NATO is now “the largest and the most important thing she ever was.” .

“Instead of calling for wars and promoting crazy chaos, President Biden will continue to strengthen American leadership and stand up for our national security interests — not against them,” Bates said.