German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he did not want Nato to break up over the US-Israeli war on Iran, as US President Donald Trump ratcheted up his threat to impose costs on the alliance if members did not deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
"We do not want - I do not want - NATO to split. NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and above all in Europe," Merz told reporters.
Merz’s emphasis on Nato’s role in European security is notable, as it underscores how Trump’s attempt to pull Nato into the war in the Middle East poses new challenges for the nearly eight-decade-old alliance.
"NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!! President DJT," Trump wrote in a social media post shortly after meeting Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the military alliance, at the White House on Wednesday.
Rutte, who was previously prime minister of the Netherlands, became famous earlier this year for calling Trump “daddy”. Asked about this remark on Thursday, Rutte said the word choice was a translation issue, but added, "I like him so much," referring to Trump.
