The harsh statements of the former US president Donald Trump for NATO show that Europeans should take more responsibility to guarantee their own security, said Latvian Foreign Minister Kristianis Karinsconsidering, however, that Europe still needs the Alliance.

Trump provoked sharp reactions from Western officials by saying that when he was president, he told a leader – whom he did not name – that he would not protect countries that do not pay their fair share of NATO and would even encourage Russia to attack them. .

Karins, a former Latvian prime minister who was born and raised in the U.S., said in an interview with Reuters that Trump’s remarks were “unexpectedly harsh” but reflected broader sentiment in the U.S. that Europe should listen to.

“Many presidents have been saying for years that Europe, we – as we are generally a rich society – should invest more in our defence,” Karins explained while speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

“Over the years the US, I believe, will be less inclined to feel that it should fully guarantee European security,” he added.

The Latvian minister noted that Europe should spend more money on its defense – a trend that began after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and continued with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He even pointed out that NATO estimated this week that 18 of its 31 members will meet the goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense by 2024, up from the 11 countries that met that goal in 2023.

“There is a group of us who are investing above the minimum and are planning to go up to 3% and even more, given the conditions we face and the real threat of Russia,” stressed Karins, whose country borders Russia .

However, Karins estimated that Europe will still need the infrastructure and coordination offered by the US-led NATO for its forces to act effectively together, as Europe does not have a common army.