NATO leaders supported a great increase in defense spending on Wednesday and reformed their commitment to defend themselves from the attack after a brief summit tailored to the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
In a brief statement, NATO supported a higher defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP by 2035, a response to a Trump demand and the fears of Europeans that Russia represents a growing threat to their safety after the invasion of Ukraine of 2022.
“We reaffirm our Ironclad commitment to collective defense as enshrined in article five of the Washington Treaty that an attack against one is an attack against all,” said the statement, after Trump had caused concern on Tuesday by saying that there were “numerous definitions” of the clause.
But just before the summit opened, Trump had said about other NATO members: “We are with them all the way.”
Trump praised the “tremendous” summit in The Hague when the leaders concluded a meeting that saw the alliance support their demand to increase defense expense.
“I think the summit was fantastic. It was a great success,” Trump told Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof.
Spend to jump through hundreds of billions
The 32 -nations alliance, meanwhile, attended a Trump call so that other countries intensify their defense expenses to reduce NATO dependence in the United States.
NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, acknowledged that it was not easy for European countries and Canada to find extra money, but said it was vital to do it.
“There is an absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table that, given this threat of the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative,” said the former Dutch prime minister to journalists in his hometown of The Hague.
The new spending objective, which will be achieved in the next 10 years, is a jump that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current 2PC objective of GDP, although it will be measured differently.
The countries would spend 3.5 % of GDP in central defense (troops and weapons) and 1.5pc on broader measures related to defense, such as cyber security, pipe protection and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles.
All NATO members have supported a statement that consecrated the objective, although Spain declared that it does not need to meet the objective and can fulfill its commitments spending much less.
Rutte disputes that, but he accepted a sweet diplomat with the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez as part of his efforts to give Trump a diplomatic victory and make the summit go without problems.
Spain said Wednesday that he did not expect his position to have any impact.
Routte compares Trump with a ‘dad’ after profane comments
Rutte compared Trump on Wednesday with a “dad” that intervenes in a courtyard of the school after the US leader used blasphemies by describing war between Israel and Iran.
In the comments to the press during an NATO summit in The Hague, Trump had compared the fight between Iran and Israel with the children’s fight.
“They have had a great fight, like two children in a courtyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2-3 minutes, so it is easy to stop them.”
Rutte laughed and added: “And then dad has to use a strong language to get [them to] arrest.”
On Tuesday, after a high -fire agreement between Iran and Israel, Trump said countries had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what they are doing.”
NATO did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Trump also compared Wednesday the impact of American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites until the end of World War II, when the United States bombarded Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same. That ended that war. This ended the war,” Trump said.
Trump ‘Play well’
Trump gave a conciliatory tone towards NATO’s allies on Wednesday, framing the agreement on a higher defense expense as a “great victory for all” on its summit.
Everything was carefully choreographed at the meeting in The Hague to keep the volatile president of the United States on board: from cutting the official part of the meeting to putting it during the night in the Royal Palace.
The strategy seemed to be working, since Trump seemed to be interested in sharing applause for an established agreement to see the 32 countries to spend 5 percent of the production in defense by 2035.
“I think it’s a great victory for everyone, and we will be matched shortly, and that’s how Trump said. “I have been asking them to go up to 5PC for several years, and they are going up to 5pc … I think it will be great news.
When organizing the meeting, NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, told reporters that Trump was “excellent mood” at dinner organized on Tuesday by King Willem-Alexander in his Royal Palace, and that the US leader seemed inspired by his hosts.
“The day begins in the beautiful Netherlands. The King and Queen are beautiful and spectacular people. Our breakfast was great!” He published in the real social network.
Upon entering the meeting, the leaders aligned to declare the planned expenses of the summit as “historical”.
The Belgian prime minister, Bart of Wever, said: “As Europeans, we must realize that our long rest in history is over.” The continent needed to take responsibility for its own security, “at a very difficult time,” added Wever.
‘Totally committed’
With that almost closed agreement, the attention was addressed to the basic base of the Alliance: its mutual defense clause that says that an attack against one is an attack against all.
Trump shook his allies apparently to put some doubts about the validity of this promise, known as article five of the NATO Treaty, telling journalists on the way to the beech that “depends on their definition.”
“There are numerous definitions of article five.”
But Rutte rejected the comments, saying that he believed that Trump and the United States were still “totally committed” to article five.
And when he was pressed on the collective promise as he met with Routte on Wednesday, Trump said: “We are with them all the way.”
Great Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, dodged multiple questions in search of clarity about Washington’s position.
“We live in a very volatile world and today it is about NATO unity, showing that force,” said Starmer.
In a previous message, it is probably not designed for public consumption, Routte hastened Trump, praising him for bringing everyone aboard for the expenses walk.
“Europe is going to pay big, as they should, and it will be his victory,” Routte wrote in a levy gust and full of caps to Trump, who quickly published it on social networks. “You are flying to another great success in The Hague.”
‘Good boy’
The discussions of the leaders on the defense were subinidated was the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with Trump prepared to meet the president of the country devastated by the war, Volodymyr Zelensky, on the side of the summit.
Zelensky is playing a less central role here than on the previous summits, to avoid a break with Trump after his infamous oval office.
But Trump described him as a “good guy” and added that he was talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war, saying: “I think progress is being made.” Rutte said the allies would send the message that the support to Kyiv was “unwavering and will persist.”
But despite his insistence that the offer of membership of Ukraine remains “irreversible”, NATO will avoid any mention of kyiv’s impulse to join after Trump ruled out.
Kremlin’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, was more categorical. “NATO has no business in Ukraine,” he said. “My job is to keep it as it is.”
