PNN – According to informed officials, the US President has “threatened to stop” sending weapons to Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join the “coalition of the willing” to open the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; Donald Trump has threatened to halt arms shipments to a NATO initiative to provide weapons to Ukraine, funded by European countries, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US president last month asked NATO naval forces to help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but European countries opposed the request, saying it would be impossible to do so while the war was ongoing, and several countries noted that it was not our war.
In response to the request, Trump threatened to halt supplies to Project Pearl, a European-funded arms program for Ukraine, three officials familiar with the talks said.
As a result, and at the urging of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, a group of European countries, including key members of the alliance such as France, Germany and Britain, issued a hasty statement on March 19 saying: We declare our readiness to participate in appropriate efforts to ensure the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
It was Rutte who insisted on the joint statement because Trump had threatened to withdraw from Pearl and from Ukraine aid in general, said one official familiar with the talks.
The statement was then drafted quickly, with other countries joining later because there was not enough time to invite everyone to sign up immediately.
Two officials said Rutte had several phone calls with Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the two days before issuing the statement.
Another official said Rutte had explained in a call with France, Germany and Britain that Trump was “extremely angry” about the Europeans’ refusal to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.