Stoltenberg says Trump remarks put US, European soldiers at risk

That's according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

"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. Any attack on NATO will be met with a united and forceful response," Stoltenberg said in a written statement.

Responding to Trump's remarks, the NATO chief added that he expects that regardless of who wins the presidential election, "the U.S. will remain a strong and committed NATO ally."

Western officials have also criticized Trump. The German Foreign Ministry posted the message "One for all and all for one" with the hashtag #StrongerTogether on its English language X account following Trump's comments.

"NATO's motto 'one for all, all for one' is a concrete commitment. Undermining the credibility of allied countries means weakening the entire NATO," Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on social media platform X.

"We have heard that before ... Nothing new under the sun," EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with France's LCI television.

"We cannot flip a coin about our security every four years depending on this or that election, namely the U.S. presidential election," Breton said, adding European Union leaders understood the bloc needed to boost its own military spending and capacities.

Article 5 of the NATO treaty says that an armed attack against an alliance member will be considered an attack against them all, triggering collective self-defense.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine