Donald Trump said that he would urge Russia to attack a NATO country that is lagging behind in common defense spending targets.
The defense ministers of the NATO countries will meet today, Wednesday, in the first meeting of the military alliance after the US presidential candidate Donald Trump brought the entire federation to its toes with his comments.
The official topic of the meeting of defense ministers is supporting Ukraine and preparing for the summit in July. However, Trump’s most recent throw drew the most attention, as he questioned whether the United States, led by him, would defend NATO countries that were under attack.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said that he was confident in the continued support of the United States for NATO, when he was asked about it at a press conference in the evening.
Stoltenberg gave three reasons for his confidence: a strong military alliance is in line with the US’s own national security interests, in the US NATO has support from both Democrats and Republicans, and the biggest criticism is not aimed at NATO itself but at the fact that the member countries are not spent enough money on defense.
– We have good news. Criticism of the United States [puolustusmenoista] was understandable for years, but now things have changed. Defense spending has been increased in Canada and Europe, and more and more allied countries are reaching the goal, Stoltenberg said.
Trump’s comments were shocking
Trump said at his campaign event on Saturday that if Russia attacked a NATO country that has not met NATO’s financial obligations, he would not go to the rescue but would actually encourage Russia Not to attack.
With obligations, Trump apparently referred to the jointly agreed goal that each member state spends at least two percent of its gross domestic product on defense.
Trump’s comments have been met with dismay on both sides of the Atlantic.
This year, 18 NATO countries, or about two-thirds of the members, will reach the minimum goal of two percent, Stoltenberg reminded at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting.
The member states have considered taking a common EU loan as one solution to increasing defense spending. The Belgian Prime Minister last expressed his support for the idea on Wednesday Alexander De Croo in an interview with news agency Reuters.
The news will be updated.
Source: Reuters