NATO agrees defense spending hike
Trump hails 'victory' • Alliance members restate commitment to mutual defense
THE HAGUE: NATO leaders on Wednesday backed the big increase in defense spending that US President Donald Trump had demanded, and restated their commitment to defend each other from attack after a brief summit in the Netherlands. While Trump got what he wanted at the annual meeting, tailor-made for him, his NATO allies will be relieved that he committed to the fundamental principle of collective defense after less clear-cut language on Tuesday.
Trump told a press conference that 'we had a great victory here', adding that he hoped that the additional funds would be spent on military hardware made in the US.
Trump threatens to punish Spain
However, he threatened to punish Spain after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared it could meet its commitments to NATO while spending much less than the new target of 5 percent of GDP. 'I think it's terrible. You know, they (Spain) are doing very well ... And that economy could be blown right out of the water when something bad happens,' Trump said, adding that Spain would get a tougher trade deal from the US than other European Union countries.
In a five-point statement, NATO endorsed the higher defense spending goal - a response not only to Trump but also to Europeans' fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The 32 allies' brief communique added: 'We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defense as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – that an attack on one is an attack on all.' Asked to clarify his own stance on Article 5 after recent ambiguous comments, Trump said: 'I stand with it. That's why I'm here. If I didn't stand with it, I wouldn't be here.'
Macron brings up trade tensions
Trump had long demanded in no uncertain terms that other countries step up their spending to reduce NATO's heavy reliance on the US. Despite an appearance of general agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of the steep import tariffs threatened by Trump, and the damage they may do to transatlantic trade, as a barrier to increased defense spending. 'We can't say we are going to spend more and then, at the heart of NATO, launch a trade war,' Macron said, calling it 'an aberration'. He said he had raised it several times with Trump.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who hosted the summit in his home city of The Hague, said NATO would emerge as a 'stronger, fairer and more lethal' alliance. The former Dutch prime minister said Trump deserved 'all the praise' for getting NATO members to agree on raising defense spending. Asked by a reporter if he had deployed excessive flattery to keep Trump onside during the summit, Rutte said the two men were friends and judgment of his approach was a matter of taste.
New NATO spending
The new spending target - to be achieved over the next 10 years - is a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current goal of 2 percent of GDP, although it will be measured differently. Countries pledged to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on core defense - such as troops and weapons - and 1.5 percent on broader defense-related measures such as cyber security, protecting pipelines and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles. The additional spending will be a tall order for European nations, many of which have strained finances.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to settle for attending the pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening rather than the main meeting on Wednesday, although he met Trump separately after the conference ended. The Kremlin has accused NATO of being on a path of rampant militarization and portraying Russia as a 'fiend of hell' in order to justify its big increase in defense spending. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
9 hours ago
- Arab Times
China urges NATO to stop vilifying Beijing and exaggerating threats
BEIJING, China, June 26: Beijing has called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stop exaggerating threats and vilifying China, urging the alliance to abandon Cold War-era thinking and cease manipulating China-related narratives to justify its military expansion. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun issued the remarks on Thursday in response to recent comments by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Rutte cited what he called "the long-term threat of Russia, the massive military build-up in China, and support from North Korea, China, and Iran for Russia's war effort in Ukraine" as reasons for increased NATO defense spending. Guo condemned the remarks, saying that NATO's attempts to amplify global tensions and portray China's routine military modernization as a threat are being used to rationalize the bloc's expanded military footprint and growing defense budgets. "NATO's military expenditure accounted for 55 percent of global defense spending in 2024, yet it still pushes member states to raise spending to 5 percent of GDP to build a 'more lethal NATO'," Guo said at a daily press briefing. "What exactly are their intentions?" He also criticized the alliance for operating beyond the geographic limits set by its founding treaty. "Though it calls itself a regional defensive alliance, NATO is clearly reaching beyond its defined scope, citing Eurasian security as a pretext to intervene in Asia-Pacific affairs," Guo noted, adding that such moves have raised concerns among countries in the region. Regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Guo reiterated China's neutral stance, stating that the country has never supplied weapons to any party involved and strictly controls the export of dual-use items. 'China's objective and fair approach, along with its constructive role in global peace efforts, has been widely acknowledged by the international community,' he said. Guo concluded by urging NATO to reflect on its own actions, listen to calls for justice from the international community, and reject outdated notions of bloc confrontation and zero-sum competition. 'If NATO truly seeks security for Europe and the world, it should stop fanning the flames of conflict and provoking confrontation,' he said.
Arab Times
10 hours ago
- Arab Times
Iran's leader issues warning to US in first post-war remarks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 26, (AP): Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday his country had delivered a "slap to America's face' with its strike on an American base in Qatar, and warned against any further U.S. attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared with Israel after 12 days of war. Khamenei spoke in a recorded video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19. The 86-year-old looked and sounded more tired than he did only a week ago, speaking in a hoarse voice and occasionally stumbling over his words. The more-than 10 minute speech by the supreme leader was filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel. He downplayed Sunday's U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles, saying that U.S. President Donald Trump - who said the attack "completely and fully obliterated Iran's nuclear program - had "exaggerated' its impact. "They could not achieve anything significant,' he said. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, reiterated on Thursday that the damage done by Israeli and U.S. strikes at Iranian nuclear facilities "is very, very, very considerable.' "I think annihilated is too much but it suffered enormous damage,' Grossi told French broadcaster RFI. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, on Wednesday also conceded that "our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that's for sure.' Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists. Following Sunday's U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump was able to help negotiate a ceasefire that came into effect on Tuesday. Khamenei claimed the U.S. had only intervened in the war because "it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.' "It entered the war to save them, yet it gained nothing,' he said. He said his country's attack on the U.S. base in Qatar on Monday was significant, since it shows Iran "has access to important U.S. centers in the region and can act against them whenever it deems necessary.' "The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America's face,' he said, adding "this action can be repeated in the future." "Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,' he said. Since the ceasefire, life has been gradually returning to normal in Iran. On Thursday, Iran partially reopened its airspace, which had been shut down since the war broke out, and shops in the capital of Tehran began to reopen, with traffic returning to the streets. Majid Akhavan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, said Iran had reopened the airspace for the eastern half of the country to domestic and international flights, including those transiting Iranian airspace. Earlier this week, Tehran said 606 people had been killed in the conflict in Iran, with 5,332 people wounded. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group released figures Wednesday suggesting Israeli strikes on Iran had killed at least 1,054 and wounded 4,476. The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said 417 of those killed were civilians and 318 were security forces. At least 28 people were killed in Israel and more than 1,000 wounded, according to officials there. During the 12-day war, Iran fired more than 550 missiles at Israel with a 90% interception rate, according to new statistics released by Israeli authorities on Thursday. Israel, meantime, hit more than 720 Iranian military infrastructure targets and eight nuclear-related sites, Israel said. Trump has also asserted that American and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace. Iran has not acknowledged any such talks would take place, though U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran negotiations was scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was canceled after Israel attacked Iran on June 13. Iran has insisted that it will not give up its nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament agreed Wednesday to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country's cooperation with the IAEA, which has monitored the program for years.
Kuwait Times
13 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
NATO agrees defense spending hike
Trump hails 'victory' • Alliance members restate commitment to mutual defense THE HAGUE: NATO leaders on Wednesday backed the big increase in defense spending that US President Donald Trump had demanded, and restated their commitment to defend each other from attack after a brief summit in the Netherlands. While Trump got what he wanted at the annual meeting, tailor-made for him, his NATO allies will be relieved that he committed to the fundamental principle of collective defense after less clear-cut language on Tuesday. Trump told a press conference that 'we had a great victory here', adding that he hoped that the additional funds would be spent on military hardware made in the US. Trump threatens to punish Spain However, he threatened to punish Spain after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared it could meet its commitments to NATO while spending much less than the new target of 5 percent of GDP. 'I think it's terrible. You know, they (Spain) are doing very well ... And that economy could be blown right out of the water when something bad happens,' Trump said, adding that Spain would get a tougher trade deal from the US than other European Union countries. In a five-point statement, NATO endorsed the higher defense spending goal - a response not only to Trump but also to Europeans' fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The 32 allies' brief communique added: 'We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defense as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – that an attack on one is an attack on all.' Asked to clarify his own stance on Article 5 after recent ambiguous comments, Trump said: 'I stand with it. That's why I'm here. If I didn't stand with it, I wouldn't be here.' Macron brings up trade tensions Trump had long demanded in no uncertain terms that other countries step up their spending to reduce NATO's heavy reliance on the US. Despite an appearance of general agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of the steep import tariffs threatened by Trump, and the damage they may do to transatlantic trade, as a barrier to increased defense spending. 'We can't say we are going to spend more and then, at the heart of NATO, launch a trade war,' Macron said, calling it 'an aberration'. He said he had raised it several times with Trump. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who hosted the summit in his home city of The Hague, said NATO would emerge as a 'stronger, fairer and more lethal' alliance. The former Dutch prime minister said Trump deserved 'all the praise' for getting NATO members to agree on raising defense spending. Asked by a reporter if he had deployed excessive flattery to keep Trump onside during the summit, Rutte said the two men were friends and judgment of his approach was a matter of taste. New NATO spending The new spending target - to be achieved over the next 10 years - is a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current goal of 2 percent of GDP, although it will be measured differently. Countries pledged to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on core defense - such as troops and weapons - and 1.5 percent on broader defense-related measures such as cyber security, protecting pipelines and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles. The additional spending will be a tall order for European nations, many of which have strained finances. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to settle for attending the pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening rather than the main meeting on Wednesday, although he met Trump separately after the conference ended. The Kremlin has accused NATO of being on a path of rampant militarization and portraying Russia as a 'fiend of hell' in order to justify its big increase in defense spending. — Reuters
