NATO defense spending rises: Trump claims victory, Macron disagrees



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US President Donald Trump hailed a personal victory at a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit on July 12, declaring that his allies had greatly increased their defense expenditure. "I told people that I would be very unhappy if they did not respect their commitments," a boiling president told reporters after the second day of the Brussels meeting, when executives of the group said they would not be happy. NATO have teamed up with Trump to try to defuse a crisis. 19659002] But French President Emmanuel Macron denied Trump's badertion that the NATO powers agreed to increase defense spending beyond the previous goals.

million. Trump said, "I let them know [NATO leaders] that I was extremely unhappy." But he added that the talks had ended in the best terms. "Everything came together at the end."

The German Chancellor was called by his first name

Meeting officials said that Mr. Trump had shocked many people present and had broken with the diplomatic protocol by addressing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel her first name, saying to her: "Angela, you must do something about it."

Most officials and guest leaders of the Afghanistan and non-NATO Georgia were inaugurated.

Other in the room, including the Lithuanian President whose country is among the most nervous of Russia's ambitions, denied a suggestion that Mr. Trump had threatened to leave the country. Mr. Macron also stated that Mr. Trump "never at any time, publicly or privately, threatened to withdraw from NATO."

Asked about it, Mr. Trump said that he thought he could do it without Congressional approval s, but According to him, the 28 other allies had agreed to increase their defense spending faster to reach the goal of 2% of their national income from NATO within a few years . The current commitment is to reach two percent by 2024, but with withdrawal times that would allow some to extend until 2030.

Trump has stressed that the NATO budget had been unfair to the United States, but now he was sure it would be right. Allies would increase spending by $ 33 billion or more, he added. He also said that he thought spending 4% on defense – similar to the US level – would be the right level.

"Total credit for me"

"We have a very powerful NATO, very strong, much stronger than it was two days ago," he said. Citing the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, he said: "Secretary Stoltenberg gives us a total credit, which means, I suppose, in this case, a total credit. said it was unfair. "

" The numbers have gone up like a rocket … and they're going to increase further, "he said. "Everyone in this room was listening and they agreed to pay more and they agreed to pay faster."

Merkel said: "We had a very intense peak."

Trump had opened the first day of the talks on July 11 with a public rant against Germany, the second largest state of the Western Defense Alliance, criticizing its reliance on Russian gas imports and its inability to spend more on defense

. to calm down as the summit unfolded in its second day, focusing on operations beyond Europe. But, according to several sources, Mr. Trump has reopened in strong terms his demand that other countries spend more immediately. "The language was much harder today," a source told Reuters . "His most virulent words were addressed to Germany, including the caller Angela -" You, Angela ".

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel have also criticized by Mr Trump for their spending goals When US taxpayers, who finance a defense budget of about 3.6% of their national income, bear a large portion of the bills of the year. NATO

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