Trump to press NATO on defence spending: White House
Washington, July 6
US President Donald Trump will use this week's North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit in Ankara to press alliance members to accelerate defence spending and move faster towards the agreed target of spending five per cent of their GDP on defence, according to senior White House officials.
Trump will depart Washington on Monday (July 6) evening and arrive in Ankara on Tuesday (July 7) afternoon, where he will be welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before holding bilateral talks.
On Wednesday (July 8), he will attend the NATO leaders' social dinner, participate in the alliance's working session and meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Trump will then hold a press conference before returning to Washington later that day.
Speaking during a White House preview call on Sunday, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew G. Whitaker said the Ankara summit would measure allies' progress towards the defence spending commitments made at last year's Hague summit.
"President Trump expects all allies to step up immediately, and not only get on a sustainable path to the 5 per cent but get to 5 per cent as soon as possible in a very dangerous world that needs capable allies," Whitaker said.
Whitaker said allies had since committed nearly 139 billion US dollars in additional defence spending, with "roughly half of that being on American-made equipment and weapons and munitions."
"That's a good start, but some allies are doing more than others," he said, adding that Poland, the Nordic countries and the Baltic states were leading the effort, while Germany was on track to reach the target by 2029. He said all allies should demonstrate "meaningful upward trajectories" in defence spending to ensure fairer burden sharing across the alliance.
The ambassador said increasing defence production on both sides of the Atlantic was critical to meeting NATO's new spending goals. He said allies needed to invest not only in traditional military capabilities but also in innovative technologies.
"Our goal continues to be shifting the burden of the conventional defence of Europe to our European allies in Canada," Whitaker said. "The United States remains a proud NATO member," but "we have responsibilities elsewhere in the world, as the world's only superpower." He added that Washington needed allies that were capable, interoperable and able to strengthen the alliance's collective military power.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the administration viewed the summit as another step in reshaping NATO.
"Under this President's leadership, the United States has initiated a fundamental and historic shift in the structure of NATO, moving the alliance from a model of dependency on the United States to one of real burden sharing and self-reliance," she said. Kelly added that the allies would also discuss procurement frameworks to expand defence capabilities and ways for American companies to accelerate and showcase their products across the alliance.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As an American, I'm tired of our taxpayers subsidizing European defense while they spend their money on social programs. Trump is right to demand more from allies. But at the same time, this 'buy American' equipment push feels like a money-making scheme for defense contractors more than genuine security. 🤷♀️
From India's standpoint, this is fascinating. While NATO argues about burden-sharing, we've always maintained strategic autonomy. The irony is that many of these European nations lecture India on our defense ties with Russia, yet they themselves can't even meet their own NATO commitments! The pot calling the kettle black, no? 😅
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, America asking Europe to pay more seems fair. But on the other hand, this constant saber-rattling and military buildup doesn't lead to peace—it leads to tensions. Look at Ukraine! And for India, we should learn: don't become too dependent on any single military supplier. Russia, US, Israel, France—we need all. Ab koi ek par bharosa nahi kar sakta. 🕊️
Interesting that the summit is in Ankara. Turkey is playing both sides—NATO member but cozy with Russia? That's a whole other can of worms. For India, we face similar challenges: everyone wants our friendship, but nobody wants to help us on the border issues. NATO countries talk about 'collective security' but when it comes to India's concerns in Ladakh, it's suddenly bilateral. Hypocrisy ki bhi seema hoti hai. 😐
J We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.