Nato chief says US needs allies after Trump suggests abandoning laggards

BRUSSELS – Nato said on Feb 14 that Europe has increased its spending on defence, and that the United States needed allies, days after former president Donald Trump suggested Washington might not protect countries that do not spend enough.

“I expect 18 allies to spend 2 per cent of their GDP on defence (in 2024),” Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels, adding overall military spending is set for another record year after two years of Russia’s full-fledged war against Ukraine.

The number was higher than in 2023, when 11 of Nato’s 31 members were expected to reach the agreed target – Poland, the US, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Britain and Slovakia.

Trump shocked Europeans on Feb 10 by implying he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to Nato allies who do not spend enough.

Addressing journalists’ questions linked to the

controversy around Trump’s comments

ahead of a Nato ministers’ meeting, Mr Stoltenberg said the US knows how important the defence alliance is for its own security.

“The United States has never fought a war alone,” he said.

“The criticism we hear is not about Nato. It is about Nato allies not spending enough on Nato,” he added, saying the new hike in military spending by European allies is proof this message has been heard.

Nato’s European states will invest a combined total of US$380 billion (S$513 billion) in defence in 2024, Mr Stoltenberg added.

In a historic first since the end of the Cold War, Berlin will meet the 2 per cent target in 2024 for the first time.

The German government is allocating the equivalent of US$76.8 billion for defence spending in the current year through regular and special budget outlays. However, the sum of its total defence spending is classified. REUTERS