'Insulting and appalling': UK PM Starmer condemns Trump's comments on NATO troops in Afghanistan, suggests he should apologise

Keir Starmer

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticised former US President Donald Trump's recent remarks about NATO forces in Afghanistan, calling them "insulting" and urging an apology.

Trump had claimed that NATO troops avoided the front line during the conflict, comments that have drawn widespread condemnation.

Starmer described the statements as "insulting and frankly appalling," noting the impact on families of those who lost their lives or were injured. "I consider President Trump's remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling, and I'm not surprised they've caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured," he said.

The Prime Minister added that if he had made a similar remark, he "would certainly apologise."

US President Donald Trump has once again questioned the role and commitment of NATO allies, claiming that alliance troops did not take on frontline duties during the war in Afghanistan and casting doubt on whether they would support the United States in a future conflict.

Speaking to Fox News in Davos, Trump said NATO forces "stayed a little back" from the frontlines and raised concerns about the alliance’s reliability. He asked, "I've always said, 'Will they be there, if we ever needed them?' And that's really the ultimate test. And I'm not sure of that. I know that we would have been there, or we would be there, but will they be there?"

Following the September 11 attacks, the United States became the first NATO member to invoke Article 5, the collective defence clause stating that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. NATO allies went on to fight alongside US forces in Afghanistan for two decades, though Trump has consistently downplayed their contribution.

Reiterating his criticism, Trump said, "We've never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did—they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines," he asserted.

The 20-year conflict resulted in the deaths of 3,486 NATO troops, including 2,461 American service members. Canada and Greenland recorded 165 and 44 fatalities respectively during the war.