Trump Backtracks, Hails UK Troops After Keir Starmer Slams Afghanistan Remarks As ‘Insulting And Appalling’

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday sought to defuse a diplomatic row by praising “brave” British soldiers as warriors, a day after his remarks about NATO forces in Afghanistan drew sharp criticism from the UK and Europe.

Trump had triggered widespread anger after claiming European troops had largely stayed off the front lines during the Afghan war, comments Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “insulting and appalling.” His subsequent praise of British troops appeared aimed at softening the backlash and reaffirming respect for the UK military, even as questions lingered over his earlier characterisation of Europe’s role in the conflict.

Britain lost 457 service personnel killed in Afghanistan, its deadliest overseas war since the 1950s. For several of the war’s most intense years it led the allied campaign in Helmand, Afghanistan’s biggest and most violent province, while also fighting as the main U.S. battlefield ally in Iraq.

“The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”

Trump‘s initial comments had provoked an unusually strong reaction from Starmer who has tended to avoid direct criticism of Trump in public.

The British leader’s office issued a statement to say the prime minister had spoken to the president on Saturday about the issue.

“The prime minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” the statement said. “We must never forget their sacrifice, he said.”

Veterans in Britain and elsewhere have been lining up to condemn the U.S. president’s comments to Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Thursday in which he said that the United States had “never needed” the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan.

Among them was King Charles’ younger son Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan.

“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect,” he said in a statement.

(With Reuters Inputs)

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