Nato chief denounces Donald Trump's threat

Jens Stoltenberg says any attack on Western military alliance would be met with 'robust reaction'

Donald Trump at the South Carolina rally
Donald Trump encouraged Russia to attack any Nato country that is not paying enough to be part of the Western military alliance
(Image credit: Julia Nikhinson/AFP via Getty Images)

Any assault on a Nato country would be met with a "collective and robust reaction", said its chief Jens Stoltenberg, after Donald Trump threatened to encourage Russia to attack countries that have not contributed enough to the Western military alliance.

"Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk," Stoltenberg said. 

The secretary-general's statement came in response to Trump's comments at a campaign rally in South Carolina that he would "encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to any European countries he deemed to be in arrears.

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Trump spent much of his time as president undermining Nato, "while strong-arming members into keeping their commitments to spend more on their own militaries", said The New York Times, with the threat that "he would not come to their aid otherwise".

But several European Nato members are stepping up preparations for Russian military action. Denmark's defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen has spoken of   "new intelligence [that] indicates that Russia is rearming faster than expected and that it could attack a Nato country within three to five years", said Reuters.

Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.