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CBC
14 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
U.S. expecting NATO members to show them the money at leaders' summit
Social Sharing Short and sweet is not usually a phrase associated with the annual NATO leaders' summit, but arguably that's what many member nations are hoping for as U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the table. The gathering of allied leaders will be the first for Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who is hosting in his home country, the Netherlands. What was originally expected to be a broad, bold agenda has been narrowed to perhaps a single catchphrase: Show me the money. Member nations will debate increasing the benchmark for defence spending from the current two per cent of the gross domestic product to a combined five per cent (3.5 per cent for direct military funding and an additional 1.5 per cent for defence infrastructure). WATCH | Carney signs defence deal with EU: Canada and EU will 'pool our resources' to bolster military: Carney 13 hours ago Duration 2:22 Allies agreed to the tightly focused agenda in order to minimize the potential of facing the wrath of Trump. There will be a dinner with the Dutch royal family on Tuesday and then a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday before leaders fly home. Canada arrives at the summit fresh off Carney's pledge to increase defence spending by $9.3 billion this year in order to meet the existing two per cent target. Going to five per cent is another matter entirely. Carney has said it's not about picking a number and spending up to it. Prior to the summit, there were published reports that NATO countries all agreed to hit the five per cent target over the next decade. That is unlikely to please countries such as Spain, which openly balked at the U.S.-imposed target. Even Belgium's conservative prime minister, Bart De Wever, was skeptical when asked about it on Monday. "I'm not comfortable at all with the five per cent figure. It's huge," De Wever told Canadian journalists following a Second World War commemoration ceremony in Antwerp. "The breakdown in 3.5 and 1.5 helps a bit … but 3.5 means that we almost have to triple what we're spending on defence. We've jumped to two per cent, we're more or less in the same situation as Canada." Veteran Canadian diplomat Sen. Peter Boehm said avoiding the new target would be hard in the current geopolitical climate. "There may not be much of a choice," Boehm told CBC News in a recent interview. A former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker, said no one should underestimate Washington's single-minded focus on the target — and the words Trump wants to hear. "The emphasis that the U.S. is looking for is everybody to say, 'Yeah, we mean it,'" said Volker in a briefing by the Center for European Policy Analysis. "We have a plan. Five per cent is real. We're going to get there. We have a real threat in Europe. We have to do more." Reaching the combined five per cent goal would require Canada to spend perhaps as much as $50 billion more annually on the military and defence infrastructure. "I'm fairly confident that Canada and the whole of the alliance can do this," Rutte told CBC's Power & Politics last week during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta. He said the current pledge, agreed to more than a decade ago, is no longer enough in light of the growing conflicts in the world. WATCH | Can Canada find another main military procurement partner?: How can Canada reduce its military dependence on the U.S.? 23 days ago Duration 9:25 Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with former NATO secretary general George Robertson about how the ReArm Europe plan could help Canada reduce its military dependence on the U.S. "With the two per cent, we simply cannot go and defend ourselves," Rutte told host David Cochrane. He said it may be enough in 2025, but not in three to five years. "We have ramp up the defence spending." Boehm says he believes the five per cent goal is achievable for Canada depending "on the timeline and the effectiveness of procurement." The country's moribund defence procurement has been the country's "Achilles' heel since almost forever" and Boehm said it will "require creativity to achieve those percentage goals." In a change from past years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was invited only to attend the leaders' dinner, not the meeting of allies. Rutte insisted on Monday that Ukraine would remain a vital topic. "You will see important language about Ukraine, including connecting the defence spending up to 2035 to Ukraine, and the need for Ukraine to stay in the fight," Rutte told reporters in Brussels ahead of the summit. Zelenskyy, however, hasn't yet publicly confirmed he'll attend the dinner.
Russia Today
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kremlin weighs in on resuming Russia-NATO partnership
Russia does not see any openings for resuming its security dialogue with NATO while the bloc continues to back Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. At the same time, he stressed that the two sides will have to discuss security issues sooner or later. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peskov was asked to comment on a Bloomberg report claiming that the US had included a proposal to revive NATO-Russia Council (NRC) security talks as part of a broader effort to settle the Ukraine conflict. Peskov stated that Russia had received 'no substantial offers' on the matter while ruling out a return to any formal partnership with the bloc as unrealistic in the current geopolitical landscape. 'It is difficult to talk about resuming any kind of dialogue when NATO while it is effectively at war with the Russian Federation.' Still, the spokesman acknowledged that 'issues related to security and stability on the European continent must, of course, be discussed – and the sooner that begins, the better.' Formed in 2002, the NATO-Russia Council was designed to build trust and promote transparency in the post-Cold War era. The two sides held consultations on security issues, arms control, and counterterrorism. The body, however, started to lose its significance as ties between Moscow and the West began to fray in the early 2010s. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Moscow after Crimea voted to join Russia in 2014 following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. While some diplomatic communication – which focused mainly on the Ukraine crisis – persisted until 2022, the bloc formally ended cooperation following the escalation of the conflict. Russia has for years sounded the alarm about NATO's creeping expansion towards its border as well as Ukraine's ambitions to join the bloc. Moscow has repeatedly said that the Ukraine conflict's settlement must take into account numerous issues related to the security framework in Europe.
Russia Today
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kremlin weighs in on chances for resuming Russia-NATO partnership
Russia does not see any openings for resuming its security dialogue with NATO while the bloc continues to back Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. At the same time, he stressed that the two sides will have to discuss security issues sooner or later. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peskov was asked to comment on a Bloomberg report claiming that the US had included a proposal to revive NATO-Russia Council (NRC) security talks as part of a broader effort to settle the Ukraine conflict. Peskov stated that Russia had received 'no substantial offers' on the matter while ruling out a return to any formal partnership with the bloc as unrealistic in the current geopolitical landscape. 'It is difficult to talk about resuming any kind of dialogue when NATO while it is effectively at war with the Russian Federation.' Still, the spokesman acknowledged that 'issues related to security and stability on the European continent must, of course, be discussed – and the sooner that begins, the better.' Formed in 2002, the NATO-Russia Council was designed to build trust and promote transparency in the post-Cold War era. The two sides held consultations on security issues, arms control, and counterterrorism. The body, however, started to lose its significance as ties between Moscow and the West began to fray in the early 2010s. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Moscow after Crimea voted to join Russia in 2014 following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. While some diplomatic communication – which focused mainly on the Ukraine crisis – persisted until 2022, the bloc formally ended cooperation following the escalation of the conflict. Russia has for years sounded the alarm about NATO's creeping expansion towards its border as well as Ukraine's ambitions to join the bloc. Moscow has repeatedly said that the Ukraine conflict's settlement must take into account numerous issues related to the security framework in Europe.
