Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. should only step in on Crimea if European countries ask for help and, until then, it remains “Europe’s problem.”
“Let me explain first of all — this is Europe’s problem much more than ours, OK?” Trump told CNN during a trip to Scotland.
“And Europe isn’t complaining as much as we are. But this is more of a Europe problem,” Trump continued. “And when Europe comes to us and says, ‘We want your help, we want your help,’ but they’re not really doing that. They’re dealing with Russia, they’re taking in the gas, they’re taking in the oil — they’re not really doing that. And you know, we’re making a big deal out of it.”
“But why isn’t Germany leading this one?” Trump asked. “You know Germany is a very rich, very powerful nation. Why aren’t they dealing on it moreso? Everything the United States — we’re like the policeman of the world.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that he was prepared, at one point, to ready nuclear weapons in the fight over the disputed border between Russia and Ukraine.
CNN’s Max Foster contributed to this report.