The United States expects NATO allies to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, said US President Donald Trump, recalling Washington's support for Kiev.
„We were very nice to NATO allies. We shouldn't have helped them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of kilometers away. But we helped. Now we'll see if they will help us. Because I have been saying for a long time that we are ready to help them, but they are not ready to be with us. And I'm not sure they'll be with us," Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, Japan said it was not currently considering sending warships to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.
"There is no consideration at this time of sending the Self-Defense Forces," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said during a parliamentary debate. At the same time, Koizumi acknowledged that in theory current legislation allows Japanese ships to be sent to the region if necessary to protect "life, health or property" of Japanese citizens.
The minister did not specify whether the current situation in the Middle East falls into this scenario.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, for his part, noted that Japan was aware of Trump's statements regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but stressed that “nothing has been decided yet regarding the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces“. Kihara promised that Japan, in close cooperation with the international community, would continue diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in the Middle East in general and in the Strait of Hormuz in particular.