German defense minister urges Trump to apologize for Afghanistan remarks

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to apologise for remarks suggesting that America's NATO allies in Afghanistan avoided frontline service, joining a chorus of criticism from European politicians and army veterans.

Trump caused deep offence among U.S. allies when he told Fox Business Network last week that the U.S. had "never needed" the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan.

"It's just not right and it's disrespectful to talk about the dead of your allies in that way. They all stood there, at the side of the United States. To claim something else today is simply not true," he told a talk show on Germany's ARD public broadcaster late on Sunday.

Thousands of German troops took part in NATO's Operation Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support missions in Afghanistan and 59 were killed. The operations were launched following the al Qaeda attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Pistorius said he would bring up the issue the next time he spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and he urged Trump to apologise.

"That would be a sign of decency, respect and also insight," he said.

His comments follow similar statements from other European politicians including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called Trump's remarks "frankly appalling", in a departure from his usual avoidance of direct criticism of the U.S. president.

Trump on Saturday praised "brave" British soldiers, though he made no apology for his earlier comments and he did not mention the sacrifices of other NATO allies. Britain lost 457 service personnel in Afghanistan.

Trump administration officials have been critical of European countries for failing to meet NATO spending targets and for being too dependent on the U.S. for their own defence.

Pistorius, who has been leading a drive to rebuild Germany's armed forces, said Europe had to accept it could not depend on the U.S. as it had over the past 70 years but that the German military was on an "excellent path" to achieving its goals of being back up to strength by 2029.

-Markus Wacket/Reuters