US President Donald Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine unless European allies joined a coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the discussions.
Initially, US demands for NATO navies' help were refused, with countries unwilling to involve themselves in the conflict and several saying it would be impossible until the war ended.
Trump then threatened to stop supplying military equipment to NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which procures weapons for Ukraine and is funded by European nations, according to the Financial Times.
Following the threat, and the urging of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, France, Germany, and the UK, among other countries, released a statement on March 19 expressing "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait," the report said.
“It was Rutte who insisted on the joint statement because Trump had threatened to withdraw from PURL and from Ukraine in general," one official briefed on the discussion told the Financial Times, adding that the joint statement had to be put together so quickly that there was not enough time to invite everyone to sign, leaving some countries to join in later.
Trump was 'rather hysterical,' NATO official says
Rutte spent the two days before the statement was released making multiple calls with Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, two other officials said.
One official said Rutte described Trump as "rather hysterical" in response to the Europeans' refusal to join the effort to protect the Strait of Hormuz.
UK officials insisted that the UK was already discussing "military to military" options for securing the strait before the statement was released, but did not deny that Trump had threatened to withdraw from PURL if NATO allies did not assist in the strait.
Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies for not stepping up to aid the US during Operation Epic Fury while the US assisted Ukraine.
“We’re there to protect NATO, to protect them from Russia. But they’re not there to protect us. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said last week.
Trump also told Reuters on Wednesday that he would "absolutely" consider withdrawing from NATO, echoing the sentiment he expressed to Britain's Daily Telegraph.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that US military supplies to Ukraine have remained uninterrupted by the war with Iran on Friday.
However, he did not rule out the possibility of the US rerouting weapons earmarked for Ukraine to replenish US stockpiles.
“If we need something for America and it’s American, we’re going to keep it for America first,” Rubio said.