NATO countries should spend 5% of GDP on defense in order to respond to future threats, whether it is Russia or China, which have their own ambitions. This was stated by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagel during a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday, an UNN correspondent reports.
Details
"We feel that the Alliance is extremely strong now... The President said that 2% is not enough, NATO countries should spend 5% to respond to future threats, whether it is Russia or China, which have their own ambitions. We need to create systems, we need to create ammunition that will be effective on the battlefield. I also want to add that we need to speed up the process so that Allies get what they need when they need it. This is critically important," Mr. Hughes said.
He believes that only one person in the world can bring the Russian and Ukrainian sides to the negotiating table, and that is Trump.
"This was demonstrated yesterday by President Donald Trump. He spoke with Putin, Zelensky, and we are confident that his goal is to stop the killing and create a sustainable peace on the European continent. We will have realistic, honest discussions today. We are confident that it is a strong Alliance that will defend the democratic world, and of course America will maintain leadership," Hughes said.
At the same time, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized that the Alliance needs to raise defense spending.
"Because in 4-5 years, we will not be able to defend ourselves if we do not do this. Obviously, the United States also needs us to do more. We are talking about Canadians and Europeans in NATO. We're also going to talk about military industrial production, because we're not producing enough, from Iceland to Turkey. Of course, we need to get more out of our industrial base in order to catch up with China and Russia," Rutte said.
Addendum
Rutte has previously stated that the future quota for NATO defense spending will be much higher than 2% of gross domestic product.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he considers Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance unlikely. Washington will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, but will change its nature.
