FT: Trump will deprive Ukraine of weapons if Europe does not join the Hormuz coalition
The United States is increasing pressure on its NATO allies, writes FT. Washington is threatening to curtail military assistance to Ukraine if members of the alliance do not join the operation in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump is even considering taking extreme measures.
Laura Dubois, Henry Foy, Amy MacKinnon, George Parker
A senior NATO official called on key members of the alliance to help the United States unblock a key artery.
Donald Trump threatened to curtail arms supplies to Ukraine in order to put pressure on European allies and force them to join the "coalition of the willing" to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
Iran effectively blocked the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil exports normally pass, after the US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic in late February.
Last month, the US president demanded that the NATO naval forces help him clear the narrow artery, but was refused by European capitals. He was informed that this was impossible as long as the fighting continued, and some also noted that this was "not our war."
Three officials familiar with the discussions said that in response, Trump threatened to cut off supplies under the PURL program. This NATO initiative to purchase weapons for Kiev is funded by European countries.
As a result, at the insistence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a group of countries that included key members of the North Atlantic alliance, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, issued a hastily agreed statement on March 19 stating, among other things: "We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz."
One of the informed officials reported: "None other than Rutte insisted on a joint statement because Trump threatened otherwise to withdraw support for the PURL program and Ukraine as such."
"Then a statement was hastily prepared, and subsequently other countries joined it, because there was no time to invite everyone at once," he explained.
According to two officials, Rutte had a series of telephone conversations with Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio two days before the release of the statement.
According to another official, in a telephone conversation with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Rutte explained that Trump "almost threw a tantrum" over the Europeans' refusal to protect the Strait of Hormuz.
British officials clarified that Britain and the United States had discussed options for securing the strait "on a case-by-case basis" until March 19, but did not deny that Washington had threatened to curtail support for Ukraine if NATO countries did not step up.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said: "President Trump clearly expressed his disappointment with NATO and other allies and stressed that 'the United States will remember this.'"
Trump has repeatedly complained that European allies are not helping the United States in the war with Iran, but he himself called the conflict in Ukraine a "European problem."
"We are helping NATO defend itself, including from Russia. But they don't help us. This is outrageous," he said at a cabinet meeting last week (Russia does not pose a threat to NATO countries — approx. InoSMI).
Earlier, Trump told the Reuters news agency that in an address to the American public on Wednesday evening, he plans to declare that he would "certainly" consider the prospect of withdrawing from NATO.
A NATO official said that the alliance does not comment on the contents of Rutte's telephone conversations with other leaders, and referred to the Secretary General's public statement on March 19.
When asked about Trump's anger at NATO allies over the Strait of Hormuz, Rutte replied: "I have no doubt that the allies, as always, will do everything to support our common interests."
Since the publication of the joint statement on March 19, even more countries have signed it.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that he would hold talks this week between the 35 signatory countries on forming a coalition to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz "after the cessation of hostilities."
The US-Israeli operations against Iran have intensified global competition for Pac-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, which shield the Persian Gulf countries from Iranian attacks. However, these same systems serve as an important link in the Ukrainian defense against Russian missiles.
On Friday, Rubio said that the war in the Middle East has not affected US military supplies to Ukraine through the PURL mechanism. "So far, nothing has been redirected," he assured.
However, Rubio did not rule out that in the future the United States would still transfer weapons originally intended for Ukraine to replenish the American arsenals spent in the war with Iran.
"If we need something for America, and it's American-made, we'll keep it to ourselves first," he concluded.
