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TRUMP SAYS HE WOULD 'ENCOURAGE' RUSSIA TO ATTACK NATO ALLIES WHO DO NOT PAY
THEIR BILLS

Published
3 hours ago

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 * War in Ukraine

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Media caption,

Watch: Trump would not protect countries from attack by Russia if they do not
pay enough into Nato

By James FitzGerald
BBC News


Donald Trump has said he would "encourage" Russia to attack any Nato member that
fails to pay its bills as part of the Western military alliance.

At a rally on Saturday, he said he had once told a leader he would not protect a
nation behind on its payments, and would "encourage" the aggressors to "do
whatever the hell they want".

Members of Nato commit to defend any nation in the bloc that gets attacked.

The White House called the comments "appalling and unhinged".

Addressing crowds during the rally in South Carolina, Mr Trump said he had made
his comments about Russia during a meeting of leaders of Nato countries.

He recalled that the leader of a "big country" had presented a hypothetical
situation in which he was not meeting his financial obligations within Nato and
had come under attack from Moscow.



Mr Trump said the leader had asked if the US would come to his country's aid in
that scenario, which prompted him to issue a rebuke.

"I said: 'You didn't pay? You're delinquent?'... 'No I would not protect you, in
fact I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You gotta pay.'"

A White House spokesman said the former president was "encouraging invasions of
our closest allies by murderous regimes", and labelled the comments "appalling
and unhinged".

He added that the statement "endangers American national security, global
stability and our economy at home".

Mr Trump, the favourite to run again as the Republican candidate in this year's
US presidential election, has long been critical of Nato and what he sees as an
excessive financial burden on the United States to guarantee the defence of 30
other nations.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Mr Trump left
office. He has since bemoaned the amount of US money sent to Ukraine, which is
not a Nato member.



The US has provided Ukraine with more financial support than any other country -
totalling more than $44bn (£34bn) since the 2022 invasion, according to White
House figures from December.

However, Republicans in Congress have since the turn of the year blocked all new
funding - demanding tough measures to restrict migration into the US on its
southern border, and then refusing the amended bill when it was presented
earlier this week.

Mr Trump celebrated that rejection during Saturday's rally, saying the proposals
made by President Biden had been "disastrous".

The two issues have now been successfully separated, meaning that senators are
now able to debate the aid money separately.


RELATED TOPICS

 * War in Ukraine
 * Republican Party
 * US election 2024
 * Donald Trump
 * Nato
 * United States


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