US president Donald Trump has taken another jab at Nato, questioning whether the alliance’s mutual defence pact might conceivably let tiny Montenegro’s “very aggressive people” start the Third World War.
Mr Trump made the comments in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News Channel, conducted on Monday after the Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin.
The president and Mr Carlson were discussing Nato when the Fox News host questioned why his son should have to defend Montenegro if it is attacked.
While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success. Many positive things will come out of that meeting..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
Russia was irked when Montenegro joined the alliance in 2017.
Mr Trump replied that he has asked the same question.
Montenegro “may get aggressive and congratulations, you’re in World War Three,” he said.
The US president is a longstanding sceptic over NATO. A scenario where tensions over Montenegro would trigger nuclear war seems unlikely.
