German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has called on US President Donald Trump to apologize for his claims that Washington's NATO allies avoided frontline participation during the mission in Afghanistan, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
With his statement, Pistorius joined a growing wave of criticism from European politicians and military veterans who described Trump's words as offensive and untrue. Last week, the US president said that the United States "never needed" NATO and accused its partners of standing "a little on the sidelines" in Afghanistan.
“This is simply not true and deeply disrespectful to the fallen allies. They were there side by side with the United States. To say otherwise today is wrong“, Pistorius said.“Thousands of German soldiers participated in NATO's operations “Enduring Freedom“ and “Resolute Support“ in Afghanistan, with 59 of them losing their lives. The missions began after the “Al Qaeda“ terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Pistorius said he intended to raise the issue during his next conversation with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and reiterated that Trump owed an apology. "It would be a gesture of decency, respect and political wisdom," he said.
His comments followed similar reactions from other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described Trump's remarks as "frankly appalling," despite his usual reticence to directly criticize the US president.
Trump later praised the "brave" British soldiers, but did not apologize for his initial words or mention the casualties of other allies. Britain has suffered 457 casualties during the mission in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Trump administration officials continue to criticize European countries for insufficient defense spending and excessive dependence on the United States. Pistorius, who is campaigning to modernise and strengthen Germany's armed forces, said Europe must accept the new reality in which it cannot rely on Washington as it has in recent decades. He said the Bundeswehr was "very well on track" to meet its goal of restoring its military capabilities by 2029.