BRUSSELS – US President Donald Trump shocked allies at a fraught NATOsummit on Wednesday by suddenly demanding that members double their defencespending commitments.
Trump’s surprise demand came after he clashed with Chancellor AngelaMerkel, calling Germany a “captive” of Russia because of its gas links andsingling out Berlin for failing to pay its way.
The summit in Brussels is shaping up as the alliance’s most difficult inyears, against a backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions in fieldsranging from trade to energy and defence.
NATO allies agreed at their Wales summit in 2014 to try to spend twopercent of GDP on defence within 10 years, but the White House said Trumpsuggested that was not enough.
“During the president’s remarks today at the NATO summit he suggested thatcountries not only meet their commitment of two percent of their GDP ondefence spending, but that they increase it to four percent,” White Housespokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
“The president raised this same issue when he was at NATO last year.President Trump wants to see our allies share more of the burden and at avery minimum meet their already stated obligations.”
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev confirmed that Trump had made the demandand asked what it meant for the future of the alliance that has been thebedrock of European security for 70 years.
“NATO is not a stock exchange where you can buy security. NATO is analliance of sovereign countries united by strategic targets and commonvalues,” he told reporters.
– ‘Captive of Russia’ –
All 29 NATO leaders including Trump backed a joint statement committingthemselves to greater “burden sharing” and to the the alliance’s foundingcommitment that an attack on one member is an attack on them all — with nomention of the four percent.
Trump arrived on the back of a barrage of criticism of Europe on issuesranging from trade to energy and above all his claims that the continentfreeloads on the back of America for its defence.
He then set the tone for the day with a blistering attack on key allyGermany at a breakfast meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
“Germany is a captive of Russia because it is getting so much of its energyfrom Russia,” Trump said, taking particular aim at the proposed Nord StreamII gas pipeline, which he has previously criticised.
“Everybody’s talking about it all over the world, they’re saying we’repaying you billions of dollars to protect you but you’re paying billions ofdollars to Russia.”
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, shot back that she knew whatit meant to be under Kremlin domination and Germany had the right to makeits own policy choices.
“I myself have also experienced a part of Germany being controlled by theSoviet Union,” she said.
“I am very glad that we are united today in freedom as the Federal Republicof Germany and that we can therefore also make our own independent policiesand make our own independent decisions.”
The pair later met for a one-on-one meeting and while Trump insisted theyhad a “very very good relationship”, their frosty body language suggestedotherwise.
Merkel said she welcomed the chance to have an “exchange of views” withTrump.
– ‘Very direct language’ –
Trump has long complained that European NATO members do not pay enough fortheir own defence, singling out Germany for particular criticism.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, spends just 1.24 percent, compared with3.5 percent for the US.
Stoltenberg acknowledged that Trump had expressed himself in “very directlanguage” but insisted that away from the fiery rhetoric the allies allagree on fundamental issues: the need to boost NATO’s resilience, fightterror and share the cost of defence more equally.
NATO officials and diplomats will try to promote an image of unity at thesummit in the face of growing unease about the threat from Russia, but withthe row between Merkel and Trump and the new spending demand mean it mayprove difficult to paper over the cracks.
The mercurial tycoon said before leaving Washington that his meeting inHelsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday “may be theeasiest” part of his European tour, which also includes a trip to Britain,where the government is in crisis over Brexit.
Trump ramped up his rhetoric ahead of the talks, explicitly linking NATOwith the transatlantic trade row by saying the EU shut out US businesswhile expecting America to defend it.
EU President Donald Tusk stepped up to the fight with his own salvo againstTrump on Tuesday, telling him to “appreciate your allies” and reminding himWashington that Europe had come to its aid following the 9/11 attacks.
European diplomats fear a repeat of last month’s divisive G7 in Canada,when Trump clashed with his Western allies before meeting North Koreandictator Kim Jong Un at a summit and praising him as “very talented”. -APP/AFP