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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders are preparing for what promises to be a lively debate on defense spending at the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels on Tuesday. next week.
is eager to meet with 28 other NATO leaders to discuss ways to strengthen peace and security among nations.
"Throughout the discussions and working sessions, the Prime Minister will reiterate Canada's commitment to play an active role in the alliance. Eleanore Catenaro, Trudeau's press secretary, said Minister Trudeau would visit Canadian troops in Latvia, where Canada is leading a key NATO battle group established just before the summit. as a response of the alliance to the surprise annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and to its invasion of eastern Ukraine.
The prospect of a conflict between NATO leaders is already on the horizon, thanks to a series of cutting-edge letters from US President Donald Trump to leaders of several allies of the United States. NATO, including Canada, urging them to finally meet the Alliance's defense spending targets
. Trump says that there is a "growing frustration" in the United States with North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies such as Canada that have not increased spending on the United States. defense as promised.
"This frustration is not limited to our executive. The US Congress has taken note and also worries ", writes the president in the letter of June 19.
" The United States is less and less willing to ignore the failure of this alliance to meet common security challenges. "
The letter comes with tensions between Canada and the US Imports that have prompted Canada and other European countries to impose retaliatory tariffs politically Targeted
also come in the wake of a stormy end to G7 meetings in Quebec, when Trump called the Canadian Prime Minister "dishonest and weak." The Liberals had promised last year to 39 percent increase in military spending over the next 10 years, but Canada continues to be on the wrong track.In 2017, according to preliminary estimates of the alliance, Canada spent 1.29 percent its GDP Trump is not the first American president to get complain about NATO member countries that are not meeting their spending commitments and are too dependent on the United States, which spent 3.57% last year. Currently, only four NATO member countries achieve the two percent target that their allies agreed upon at the Wales Summit in 2014.
Trump threatened to leave NATO if the Member States NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has noted a clear improvement in defense spending in member countries since 2014 in his annual report published earlier this year.
Three consecutive years of growth in defense spending across the country. Europe and Canada added $ 46 billion to defense, he said.
In 2017, European allies and Canada increased defense spending by almost 5%. This year, eight NATO countries should adhere to the two percent guideline while many others intend to reach the target by 2024
"The picture is clear: the alliance is doing more to react and adapt to an uncertain security environment," says Stoltenberg in the report. "Allies are intensifying, doing more, in more places, in many ways, to strengthen our shared security."
However, this is not enough for Trump
. "I understand the internal political pressures, because I myself have spent considerable political capital to increase America's defense spending," Trump writes. keep on going.
"It will become increasingly difficult to justify to US citizens why some countries continue to violate our collective security agreements."
Minister Harjit Sajjan underscored Canada's commitment to development "In addition, our recent and ongoing contributions to NATO, such as our mission in Latvia, are clear demonstrations of the role of the United States. our government's commitment to the alliance and international security, "he added. Sajjan's director of communications, Renée Filiatrault, said in a statement
that Trudeau will visit Canadian troops in Latvia from 9 to 10 July before attending the NATO summit from 11 to 11 July. July 12
– Follow @ReporterTeresa on Twitter. , The Canadian Press
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