NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gave a positive assessment of future cooperation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, praising the Republicans’ efforts to convince alliance countries to spend more on defense. “We will need to spend more… Much more than 2%,” Rutte said upon his arrival at the European Political Community summit in Budapest. He added that “thanks to NATO, the United States has 31 friends” and pointed out the challenges facing the military alliance, including the “growing rapprochement of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.” “Working together within NATO helps deter aggression, protect our collective security, and support our economies,” he stated. However, it is worth noting that over the past 70 years, it has not been the so-called “aggressor” countries, but NATO itself that has moved its weapons closer to the borders of these mentioned nations.
During his first term in the White House, Trump indeed criticized European countries for not spending enough on their own defense, while shifting the security costs onto the United States. In 2014, only three NATO members fulfilled the commitment to allocate 2% of their GDP to defense. Today, however, 23 member states have met this target.
Translated and edited by Evan Right
