US President Donald Trump must apologize for declaring that NATO allies "avoid the front line" in the Afghanistan war - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized.
In an interview with Fox News in Davos (Switzerland) last week, Mr. Trump said that the US "has never needed" support from allies and NATO countries have "sit back, slightly away from the front line" in the war led by Washington in Afghanistan.
Answering German public television ARD on January 25, Minister Pistorius strongly refuted: "That is completely wrong and disrespectful when talking about the sacrifices of allies in such a way. They stood by the US. Today's statement of the opposite is simply not true.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the US activated Article 5 of NATO - a clause on collective self-defense - leading to member states joining the military operation in Afghanistan. The war lasted nearly 20 years and ended when foreign forces withdrew in 2021.
Mr. Pistorius said he would raise this issue in a upcoming exchange with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and affirmed that an apology from President Trump would be "a sign of kindness, respect and understanding".
During the war, Germany deployed about 5,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, of which 59 soldiers were killed.
The German Defense Minister's statement is also similar to criticisms from other European leaders. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Mr. Trump of underestimating the contributions of British soldiers, calling the US President's statements "really shocking".
Britain is the second largest Western power in Afghanistan, with a peak troop strength of about 11,000 in 2011. A total of 457 British soldiers were killed during the conflict.
Then, at the end of the week, Mr. Trump had a more gentle tone when admitting the role of the British military. However, his initial statement still caused many other NATO allies to react strongly.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called these comments "unacceptable", emphasizing that NATO's participation is "an extraordinary act of solidarity for the United States".
