LONDON, Jan 25 — United States (US) President Donald Trump praised "brave" United Kingdom (UK) soldiers, calling them warriors, a day after remarks he made about NATO troops in Afghanistan were described as "insulting and appalling" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He provoked widespread anger in the UK and across Europe after he said European troops had stayed off the front lines in Afghanistan.
The UK 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 US battlefield ally in Iraq.
"The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! 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 wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
The Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that King Charles III's concern over Trump's initial remarks had been relayed to the President, who last year expressed his admiration for the monarch during a state visit to the UK. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report.
Trump had also provoked an unusually strong reaction from Starmer, who has tended to avoid public criticism of the President.
The UK 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. We must never forget their sacrifice," it said.
Veterans in the UK and elsewhere have been lining up to condemn the President's comments to Fox Business Network's 'Mornings with Maria' on Thursday, in which he said that the US had "never needed" the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan.
Among them was the King's younger son Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan.
"Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect," His Royal Highness said in a statement.
