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Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) threatens an open confrontation with Donald Trump at the NATO summit. Even before his arrival in Brussels, the US president on Tuesday criticized the Allies who, according to him, invest too little in the defense. At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presented very unpleasant figures for Germany. According to forecasts, the Federal Republic of Germany is not closer to the goal of two percent this year. This could cause a new scandal this Wednesday at the beginning of the summit
On the eve of the NATO summit, US President Donald Trump arrived in Brussels. The presidential plane Air Force One landed Tuesday night shortly after 9 pm at the Melsbroek military airport near the Belgian capital.
Trump accuses the other members of NATO for a long time, not to invest enough money in the defense. The conflict eclipses the high-level military alliance meeting this Wednesday and Thursday in the Belgian capital. "The United States is paying far more than any other country just to protect them – not just for the American taxpayer," Trump wrote Tuesday in the Twitter short messaging service.
Later, he reaffirmed his claim that other member states should pay compensation to the United States. "Many of the NATO countries that we are supposed to be defending are not just lagging behind two percent (which is weak), but they have been lagging behind for many years on payments that are not enough. have not been done. Will they compensate the United States? "Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump calls on all Allies to spend at least two percent of GDP on defense by 2024 at the latest, referring to a NATO decision of 2014. In the federal government, the two per cent goal is interpreted differently, noting that the decision speaks only of getting closer to two per cent.
According to new forecasts, Germany will not succeed This year, according to Stoltenberg forecasts, only 1.24% of the gross domestic product will be spent on defense.This value was also in the last year.New figures could relaunch the controversy at the top
Donald Tusk, President of the EU Council, clearly asked Trump on Tuesday, but not at the summit just talk about spending "Europeans are spending today much more for the defense than Russia and as much as China, "Tusk said on the sidelines of the signing of a statement in Brussels on closer cooperation between the EU and l & # 39; NATO. Tusk said he hopes Trump will not doubt that it is an investment in common security.
Trump should remember the summit, but especially his meeting with the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, scheduled for next week, how the European partners were with the United States after the terrorist attacks Islamist September 11, 2001 Only 870 European men and women would have died during the next mission to Afghanistan. "It's always good to know who your strategic friend is and who your strategic problem is," Tusk said. "America has no better ally than Europe."
Trump continues to travel to London after the NATO summit in Brussels, where he wants to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday in Helsinki, Finland. Trump himself expects complicated talks in Brussels, assuming that the alliance with the Allies could be more difficult than the meeting with Putin or his visit to the United Kingdom. "I have NATO, I have the UK – it's a hectic situation and I have Putin – Frankly Putin could be the easiest of them all." It was asked if the Russian president was a friend or an enemy, Trump said: "I think he's a competitor, I think it's good to get along with Russia, to hear with China. "
Moscow reiterated on D Tuesday its criticism of the transfer of Western troops to Russian borders in recent years." Our relationship with NATO is well known. NATO is a product of the Cold War, "said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, an alliance created for the confrontation, he told Interfax. This is the best evidence of NATO troop transfers to the Russian border.In recent years NATO has displaced 1,000 troops each to Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Latvia. Many NATO members perceive Russia's policies as aggressive since the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. (dpa / AFP)
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