Why did Italy’s PM Meloni rebuke Trump? What he said about NATO allies in Afghanistan explained | World News

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a strong public response after US President Donald Trump suggested that NATO allies had failed to fully support the US during military operations in Afghanistan, comments that sparked outrage across Europe.

Meloni, in his statement published on He emphasized that such claims ignore the unprecedented solidarity shown by the alliance after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

“Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history: an extraordinary act of solidarity against the United States,” Meloni said. He underlined Italy’s immediate and sustained military commitment, noting that Rome has deployed thousands of troops and assumed leadership of the Western Regional Command, one of the most strategically important areas of the NATO-led mission.

“During nearly two decades of commitment, our Nation has endured an indisputable cost,” Meloni wrote, noting that 53 Italian soldiers were killed and more than 700 were injured during combat operations, security missions and training exercises for Afghan forces.

He reaffirmed the long-standing relationship between Rome and Washington while concluding that “statements that minimize the contribution of NATO countries in Afghanistan are unacceptable, especially if they come from an allied country.” “Friendship requires respect, which is the fundamental condition for continuing to ensure the solidarity at the heart of the Atlantic Alliance,” Meloni said. he added.

Trump’s comments, made in an interview with Fox News at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, January 22, 2026, triggered anger and concern in the United Kingdom and other NATO countries the next day. “We never needed them, we never really wanted anything,” Trump said, referring to NATO allies. “You know, they will say that they sent this or that unit to Afghanistan and that they did, they stayed a little bit behind, a little bit outside the front lines.”

Trump also said he was unsure whether NATO would support the United States if assistance was requested, and commented that many European leaders disdained two decades of allied cooperation.

In October 2001, about a month after the September 11 attacks, the United States led an international coalition into Afghanistan to dismantle Al Qaeda and eliminate the Taliban’s hosts. Forces from dozens of countries participated, including NATO members, to whom a mutual defense clause was applied for the first time in the alliance’s history.