U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned remarks made this week by President Donald J. Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calling them “appalling.” Trump said that NATO forces had stayed “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan, adding, “We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them,” despite the United States being the only NATO member to invoke Article 5 following the September 11 attacks.

Responding in an interview on Thursday, Starmer paid tribute to the 457 members of the British armed forces who were killed in Afghanistan, as well as those who were wounded. “I will never forget their courage, their bravery, and the sacrifice they made for their country,” he said. Starmer described Trump’s comments as “insulting and frankly appalling,” adding that he was not surprised they had caused deep hurt to the families of those killed or injured, and to the wider public. “If I had misspoken in that way or used those words,” Starmer said, “I would certainly apologize.”