Nato’s chief issued a sharp rebuttal to Donald Trump yesterday after the Republican presidential nominee suggested the US might not defend European allies if they came under Russian attack.
The unusually blunt plea for alliance unity by Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, came as Mr Trump’s remarks were greeted with alarm in Nato’s eastern flank, particularly the three Baltic countries and Poland.
Mr Trump’s suggestion the US should defend only European Nato members if Washington is “reasonably reimbursed” for the “tremendous cost” of protecting them came in an interview with the New York Times. When asked if he would defend the Baltics in the face of Russian aggression, he said: “If they fulfil their obligations to us, the answer is yes.”