Trump says Putin has zero fear of NATO, calls Alliance a 'paper tiger' again
US President Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is not afraid of NATO at all, since the Alliance is a "paper tiger," US President Donald Trump said in his interview with ABC News, cited by Yahoo News.
During a conversation with journalist Rachel Scott, Trump said he was testing NATO in the Strait of Hormuz. He claimed that his calls for assistance in reopening the strait were merely a test for the Alliance and that he did not actually need its help.
"I said, I'd love to have you guys get involved. And they said, well, we can't do it. I said, Oh, that's okay. I didn't even give him (the Alliance – ed.) a hard sell. They probably said, Oh, he's a terrible salesman. Because all I did say, love to have you be involved," the US president said.
He went on to emphasize again that his appeal was only an experiment, adding that NATO is a "paper tiger" with nothing, and that Putin does not fear it.
"I was doing that as a test. I didn't need that, right? They're a paper tiger. Paper Tiger. They have no ships. They have no nothing, and Putin has zero fear of them. But I did it as a test," the White House chief concluded.
Trump, NATO, Hormuz Strait
Recently, Donald Trump said he is seriously considering withdrawing the United States from NATO. He cited the Alliance's failure to join Washington's operation against Iran as the reason.
However, according to CNN, NATO itself does not feel excessive concern over such threats. French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, advised Trump to speak less after such statements to avoid undermining NATO or casting doubt on the US commitment to the Alliance.
Meanwhile, Head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO Alyona Getmanchuk believes that if the United States leaves the bloc, it could create more opportunities for Kyiv to integrate into the Alliance.
