Trump and the U.S. are totally committed to NATO, alliance chief says

The United States and President Donald Trump are totally attached to NATO, the head of the military alliance said on Tuesday, seeking to reassure the allies following fear that Washington could abandon the Western military block due to the frustration concerning unequal defense expenses.

“There is a total commitment from the American president and the US senior management to NATO,” NATO secretary general said NATO secretary on Tuesday morning, while the summit started in The Hague.

“However, it comes with an expectation. And the wait is that we will finally deal with this enormous irritant, that is to say that we do not spend enough as an European and Canadian,” Rutte told a public forum at the top.

“They want us to equalize what the United States spends,” he added, saying that it was not only fair to do so, but also necessary in the middle of the continuous threat of Russia.

Tensions between the defense expenses of Washington, Canadian and European Allies have overshadowed NATO for several years, but before this summit, the members agreed to increase defense expenses to 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.

This year’s rally takes place in a context of conflict in the Middle East and the current war between Ukraine and Russia. In addition, there have been current questions on the United States’s commitment to the alliance given by the arguments concerning the various amounts that the Member States attribute to defense and security.

Rutte said her key message to the European allies was to “stop worrying so much”.

“Start making sure you get [defense] Investment plans made, that you get the operational industrial base, that support for Ukraine remains at a high level, that’s what you should work on and stop running for the United States, they are with us, “he added.

NATO members committed themselves in 2014 to spend 2% of the GDP for defense, but some countries, such as Canada and Spain, have struggled to reach this threshold. Other Member States, in particular those of the sides of the North and East of the Bloc and closer to the opponent of Russia, such as Poland and Estonia, have largely exceeded the target of 2%.

As such, some allies will be in Trump’s right books when he joins the summit later Tuesday, while others will not be.

Spain has already relied on the target of expenses of 5% – it is the lowest expense of the alliance – and there was report that he had received an exemption Of the new threshold, but the Minister of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans challenged it, telling CNBC that Madrid had to match the commitments made by others.

“I do not think that Spain gets an exception, because they will sign the joint declaration tomorrow, and the rules that we have within NATO also apply to Spain, so they must also assume their responsibility. They also engaged in military plans [agreeing new capability targets] Two weeks ago, and I expect Spain to also make their commitment, “CNBC Stedgwick he said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit.

The allies will feel the need to keep Trump next to it, given his well -known skepticism and his collection criticism like NATO and the group of seven industrialized nations as speaking stores that lack substance. Last week, the president left a summit in the G7 early, ostensibly due to the situation in the Middle Eastbut The departure was also considered an expression of its frustration With such heights.

Trump is expected to join NATO compatriots on Tuesday evening for a ceremony and a red carpet dinner organized by the King and the Queen of the Netherlands. It is expected that the Alliance will publish a joint declaration at the end of the summit on Wednesday, officially committing to increase defense expenses by 5%.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstatis Budrys, said on Tuesday that Trump’s presence at the top, although shorter than the attendance of other leaders, was “proof that NATO is a strong alliance that is functional, that we are ambitious and that we deliver”.

“And with the joint declaration tomorrow, we will see that we are able to agree on [an] Ambitious benchmark on 5% of the GDP spent on the defense, and that is a great thing, and it is also because of the management of President Trump and the management of our secretary general Mark Rutte, “CNBC Setve Sedgwick told Steve.