Donald Trump and a combative start to the NATO summit: he said that Germany is "prisoner" of Russia

BRUSSELS – The air is tense. Today, the Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (
NATO) in Brussels and


US
does not know which side he is on. President


Donald Trump
said yesterday that as it is the panorama it would seem easier to talk with


Vladimir Putin
his pair of


Russia
with the leaders of the other member countries of
the transatlantic military alliance

is that
Trump comes to the meeting amidst the decision to raise tariffs on some European products and claims because no country spends as much money on military defense as its own. In this regard, he tweeted yesterday: "The United States spends much more than any other country, to protect them, which is not fair to US taxpayers, and we are losing $ 151 billion in trade trade with the European Union. they support big tariffs (and barriers)! "

Today was no less controversial.Already in Brussels, he said that


Germany
is "totally under Russian control" because of the agreement signed with that country for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will connect Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. "Germany is a prisoner of Russia because it receives a lot of energy, it pays billions of dollars to Russia and we have to defend it against Russia," he insisted during a meeting. Bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. I find it sad that Germany is concluding a large-scale oil and gas deal with Russia while you are supposed to be vigilant towards Russia, and that Germany is paying Russia for billions and thousands of dollars a year. and the answer did not take long.

The commentary came to the Chancellor's ears


Angela Merkel
with whom he will meet as part of the event and who has warned that his government is making decisions and policies independently.

Military Expenditure

The United States, meanwhile, "pay a lot of money" to protect France, Germany and the whole world within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance. "Germany is a rich country … it can rise [sus gastos en defensa] immediately, tomorrow, without any problem," he added. But Stoltenberg replied that the pipeline issue had nothing to do with NATO. It is not the task of the alliance to judge the deal with Russia, but it is a national issue, he said. "In Germany, opinions diverge on the North Steam pipeline and this is known," he said.

Despite the comment, the Secretary General was confident that the Allies will form a united front despite the fact that Trump has long criticized Germany and other countries, such as Spain, for not have achieved the goal of devoting two percent of their GDP to defense. "President Trump has a very direct language and message about defense spending, but basically we agree: all allies have agreed that we need to share the burden more equitably," said Stoltenberg. Trump reinforces his criticism of the first European economy by not spending enough on his national military spending, the main point of disagreement between the United States and its 28 allies at the summit.

United States, whose military budget reaches 3, 5% of GDP and whose direct contributions to the NATO budget represent 22% of the total, have criticized in the past the cut of the defense that its allies have done in the midst of the economic crisis.

In Wales, in 2014, Alliance members pledged to reconcile military spending by 2% of national GDP by 2024, but with Washington, only seven European countries would respect it in 2018.

Yesterday the


European Union
urged Trump, through the mouth of European Council President Donald Tusk, to "appreciate" his allies and to remember at his Putin summit "who is his strategic enemy" and "who is his strategic problem". Trump came to the top of NATO and said that Germany is “prisionera” de Rusia” style=””/>

DPA, AP and AFP Agencies [19659029] Topics in this note