United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have agreed to increase their defence spending. Speaking to reporters after a summit in Belgian Capital Brussels, Trump said NATO members would spend over 2% of their Gross Domestic Product on defence, BBC reported.
“We made a tremendous amount of progress today,” he said. “It has been really amazing to see the level of spirit in that room.” Asked if his administration was thinking about quitting the military alliance, the US president said he considered it “presently unnecessary”.
Trump said he does not want Russia to be a security threat to the US, and that is why his administration is spending a lot of money on defence, The Guardian reported.
The US president claimed that the Iranian government has been treating him more respectfully after Washington pulled out of a nuclear deal with Tehran. He asked other countries not to buy oil from Iran. “They [Iran] are feeling a lot of pain right now,” Trump claimed.
Earlier in the morning, the US president criticised Germany for not allocating enough money for their defence budget. “Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia,” he tweeted. “They pay only a fraction of their cost. The US pays tens of billions of dollars too much to subsidise Europe, and loses big on trade!”
He claimed that Germany was paying Russia billions of dollars for their energy requirements. “Not acceptable! All NATO nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%,” he tweeted.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!