US spending on NATO is neither fair nor acceptable



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US President Donald Trump has stepped up his pressure on NATO allies as the defense spending crisis intensifies in anticipation of a NATO summit on Wednesday in Brussels. "The United States spends a lot more than any other country on NATO," Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday. "It's not fair or acceptable," he said, reprimanding what he saw as very little German defense spending
. Trump said with reference to NATO partners: "Although these countries have increased their contributions since I came to power, they must do more." Germany spends 1% (of GDP on defense), the United States spends 4% and Europe benefits much more from NATO than from the United States. "
Trump commented on his appeal to the trade dispute with Europe., L & rsquo; EU realizes a $ 151 million trade surplus with the United States, with significant trade barriers to US products No! "
US President appears to have been involved in $ 1 billion trade surplus , and not billions, and the defense spending of some alliance countries, such as the United States, has been increasing for a long time, and NATO leaders face concerns at the next summit on Wednesday. Thursday in Brussels, under pressure or even re Trump, who calls for financial sharing, although this is to the detriment of NATO's credibility.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed out that his country was Norway among the countries criticized by Washington.
A European diplomat, who declined to be identified, predicted that the summit would be "arduous", while a NATO official said his success depended on temperament. Trump
French MEP Arnault Dangan, an expert "It is not only doubts about the reliability of US commitments, but also about the direction of a volatile US foreign policy that can come into play. collision either by its isolationism or imprudence, "he said. Pierre Fimont, former top European diplomat, said the first meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, just days after the summit, was "much more important to him than the NATO summit."
For his part, said the President of the European Council Donald Tuss, Monday, he would ask the US President to raise the issue of political prisoners during his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week. "I will continue to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Russia, including of course the director Oleg Sintsov," Tusk told a press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Brussels
. The issue is also part of the agenda of President Trump during his meeting with Putin in Helsinki, "he said, adding that he would ask the new US ambassador to the European Union. Gordon Sundald to deliver the letter to Trump Tusk's remarks came after a summit with Poroshenko, also attended by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
In a joint statement he called for "The immediate release of all Ukrainian citizens illegally detained in Crimea and Russia" The statement mentioned the name of Sintsov and five other detainees.
Trump and Putin must meet at a summit in Helsinki on July 16 (Agencies)

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