"NATO cannot be an a la carte alliance," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after former US President Donald Trump downplayed his country's commitment to European security.
"Let's be serious. NATO cannot be a military alliance that works depending on the humor of the US president," Borrell stressed.
Trump said he would "encourage" Russia to attack NATO members who have defaulted on their financial obligations in his most extreme outburst against the military alliance, which he has long been skeptical of.
At a political rally in South Carolina, speaking about an unspecified NATO leadership meeting, Trump described a conversation with a fellow head of state:
"One of the presidents of a great country stood up and asked me: 'Well, sir, if we don't pay and are attacked by Russia, will you protect us?'. I replied: 'You have not paid, have you defaulted?' No, I wouldn't protect you. I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay your bills."
US President Joe Biden denounced as "horrifying and dangerous" Trump's comments belittling US commitments to NATO. Biden warned on February 11 that the former president intended to give Russian leader Vladimir Putin "a green light for more war and violence." /BGNES
