US President Donald Trump said he believes that Britain would fight alongside the US in the event of war, but expressed doubts about the support from the European Union. This, he said, is one of the reasons he did not sign a trade agreement with the bloc, Reuters reports, BTA reports.
In an interview with the BBC, Trump stressed that even despite the agreement of NATO member states to increase their defense spending, he remains unsure whether they would really protect the US in a military conflict. Britain, which is also a NATO member, remains a loyal partner, he said.
“One of the problems with NATO, as I said, is that we have to fight for them, but will they actually fight for us if there is a war?“, Trump asked.““I believe that Britain will fight alongside us. I think they will be with us. But I'm not sure that many other countries would do the same“, he added.“
The president indicated that this uncertainty influenced his decision to make exceptions for Britain within the framework of his customs policy, while at the same time threatening to impose a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union.“
“That's why I did some deals with them, but not with the European Union as a whole. "In most cases, I haven't made a deal with your competitors in Europe," Trump told the BBC.
NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one country is an attack on all, has only been invoked once, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in support of the United States, Reuters recalls.
British troops have participated in the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, but London has subsequently significantly reduced the size of its army.