Former US President Donald Trump has said he would "encourage" Russia to attack any of the US NATO allies he believes have failed to meet their financial obligations. The White House called the remarks "horrible and insane.
This UNN reported with reference to The Guardian.
On Saturday, Trump said he told his fellow head of state during an unspecified NATO meeting that the U.S. under his leadership would not defend any country that "broke the rules."
One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said: "Well, sir, if we don't pay and we are attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said: You haven't paid, so you're delinquent? No, I wouldn't defend you. In fact, I would advise them to do whatever the hell they want. You have to pay. You have to pay your bills
White House spokesman Andrew Bates, when asked about Trump's comments, said:
Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and insane - and it jeopardizes American national security, global stability, and our economy at home
In 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, NATO countries agreed to end the spending cuts they had made since the Cold War and move to spending 2% of their GDP on defense by 2024.
During his 2016 election campaign, Trump alarmed Western allies by warning that the United States under his leadership could renege on its treaty obligations to NATO and only stand up for countries that meet the alliance's 2% target.
As of 2022, NATO reported that seven of 31 NATO members had met this commitment, up from three in 2014. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has spurred additional military spending by some NATO members.
