Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has expressed concern over the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, who speaks of NATO as a separate structure from the United States, although the US itself is a member of the Alliance. He said this before the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, commenting on Washington’s call to involve allies in protecting the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Sikorski, no such request has yet been received from the US at the NATO level, but in the event of an official request, the allies will be able to consider it. At the same time, the Polish minister drew attention to the tone of the American leader’s statements.
“It is a little worrying that Donald Trump speaks of NATO as “they”, not “us”. From my information, it follows that the procedures in NATO have not yet been launched, but if the US turns to NATO regarding the protection of the Strait of Hormuz, we will consider it,” Sikorski noted.
Sikorski also made it clear that Poland is not willing to participate in a possible military operation in this area. Amid the debate in Europe, the positions of the allies remain restrained: some countries demand more clarity about the US goals, while others immediately reject the force scenario.
On March 15, Donald Trump said that NATO “has a very bad future ahead” if the allies do not help restore safe shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. After that, restrained responses were heard in Europe: Germany expressed skepticism about such an approach, and the United Kingdom said that it was working with partners on options to support shipping, but not within NATO.
