Military support will have to be prioritized: Rutte warned of NATO's plans to increase defense spending
Kyiv • UNN
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has announced the need for a significant increase in defense spending by the alliance's member states. The US is calling for a rebalancing of spending, as it currently accounts for more than 50% of NATO's GDP.
NATO members will have to increase their defense spending by much more than 3% of GDP. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during an interview with POLITICO, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that on Saturday, February 15, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that NATO's spending target would be "well over 3 percent.
According to the newspaper, US President Donald Trump has demanded that allies allocate 5% of their GDP to defense, which is significantly more than the 2% that the defense alliance agreed on more than 10 years ago. However, this is now considered too low to combat the threat from Russia, the need for rearmament, and the simultaneous sending of weapons to Ukraine.
We will have to prioritize defense over other things
According to POLITICO , Rutte hinted at the need for governments to make difficult decisions about military spending instead of popular welfare programs.
The alliance is setting new capability targets that will determine where additional money should be spent. According to NATO's Secretary General, it currently lacks air defense systems, long-range missiles, and tanks to support its armies.
"We haven't paid enough over the last 40 years, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall," Rutte said of European and Canadian defense spending. "The US is rightly asking for a rebalancing of this. It is logical.
Rutte also emphasized that Washington remains committed to NATO, despite recent statements by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagel that European allies "cannot assume that America's presence will last forever.
The United States accounts for more than 50 percent of NATO's GDP, so the alliance is "primarily an American organization," Rutte said.
We have to put an end to this in such a way... that Putin does not capture a single square mile or a single square kilometer of Ukraine
"I don't think it will be a bad deal," he added.
Recall
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte saidthat at a meeting in The Hague, the Alliance countries will discuss the need to increase military production.
Rutte says NATO will discuss US statements on Ukraine peace settlement13.02.25, 09:40 • 27345 views
