NATO leaders backed a significant increase in defence spending that US President Donald Trump had called for and reaffirmed their commitment to defending each other from attack, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
While Trump got what he wanted at a short summit specially arranged for him, his NATO allies will be relieved that he committed to the basic principle of collective defence after the vaguer language used yesterday.
In a five-point statement, NATO endorsed a higher defence spending target of 5% of the alliance's gross domestic product by 2035 - a response not only to Trump but also to European concerns that Russia poses a growing threat to their security after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In a brief communiqué from the 32 NATO member states, the allies added: "We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to collective defense, as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, that an attack on one is an attack on all".
Asked to clarify his own position on Article 5, Trump said: "I support it. That's why I'm here. If I didn't support him, I wouldn't be here."
Macron raises trade war issue at NATO summit
Trump has long been unequivocal in his call for other countries to increase their defense spending to reduce NATO's heavy dependence on the United States.
Despite the apparent general agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron has raised the issue of Trump's threatened high import tariffs and the damage they could do to transatlantic trade as an obstacle to increasing defense spending.
"You can't come to us as allies and ask us to spend more, tell us we're going to spend more on NATO - and then wage a trade war. "This is an anomaly," Macron told reporters.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who hosted the summit in The Hague, said NATO would become a "stronger, fairer and more lethal" alliance. He previously acknowledged that it would not be easy for European countries and Canada to find additional funds, but said it was vital.
"My colleagues at the table are absolutely convinced that given the threat from the Russians and the international security situation, there is no other alternative," the former Dutch prime minister told reporters in his hometown of The Hague.
The new spending target, to be achieved over the next 10 years, is a jump of hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current target of 2% of gross domestic product, although it will be measured differently.
Alliance members will spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defense - such as troops and weapons - and 1.5% on broader defense-related measures such as cybersecurity, pipeline protection and adapting roads and bridges for heavy military vehicles. funds.
All NATO member states supported a declaration endorsing the goal, although Spain said it did not need to meet it and could meet its commitments by spending much less.
Rutte disputes this, but has agreed to a diplomatic agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as part of his efforts to give Trump a diplomatic victory and ensure the summit goes smoothly. Spain said today it did not expect its position to have any consequences.
Trump meets Zelensky after summit
Rutte cut short the summit and its final statement and focused on the spending pledge, in a bid to avoid any friction with Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to settle for a pre-summit dinner last night instead of the main meeting today, although he met Trump privately after the conference.
The Kremlin has accused NATO of heading for uncontrollable militarization, portraying Russia as a "devil from hell" to justify a big increase in defence spending.