General Discussion

"What does (...) Donald ​Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot do?" German ​Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Monday, as he downplayed threats by Trump that failing to come to Washington's aid ⁠could have consequences for the NATO alliance.

"This is not our war, we have not started it," he added.

The conflict has nothing to do with NATO and Germany ​has no plans to be drawn into it, German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said.

"Neither the United States nor Israel consulted us before the war, and ... Washington explicitly stated at the outset ​of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired," the spokesperson said.