News Desk (MNN); British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated that US President Donald Trump should apologise for remarks suggesting European troops were not actively engaged on the front lines during the Afghanistan war.
In an unusually direct criticism of a sitting US president, Starmer said on Friday that Trump’s comments to Fox News, claiming NATO allies remained “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan, were deeply offensive and unacceptable.
Asked whether he expected an apology from Trump, Starmer responded that if he himself had made such remarks, he would “certainly apologise,” calling the statements “insulting and frankly appalling.”
Trump made the remarks shortly after withdrawing threats to impose tariffs on several European nations that opposed his demands regarding Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump also questioned NATO’s reliability, saying the United States had “never really asked anything” of the alliance.
Starmer strongly rejected that narrative, paying tribute to the 457 British service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan following the US-led invasion in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. He noted that more than 150,000 UK troops served in Afghanistan, making Britain the second-largest contributor to the coalition.
NATO’s collective defence clause, Article 5, was invoked for the first time after the attacks on the US, leading to the deployment of forces from dozens of allied nations. Canada lost over 150 soldiers, France around 90, while Germany, Italy and other countries also suffered significant casualties. Denmark, currently under pressure from Trump over Greenland, lost 44 troops.
Trump’s comments sparked widespread anger across Europe and further strained transatlantic relations at a time when tensions over Greenland and trade tariffs were already high. Although Trump later softened his stance following talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Arctic security, criticism of his Afghanistan remarks continued to mount.
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel described the comments as false and disrespectful, while Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz reaffirmed Poland’s commitment as a dependable NATO ally.
Adding to the criticism, Britain’s Prince Harry said the sacrifices made by soldiers deserved to be acknowledged honestly and respectfully. Reflecting on his own two tours in Afghanistan, he said thousands of lives were permanently altered, with families bearing the lasting cost of war.
