Donald Trump tells NATO allies to double defence spending

Donald Trump has accused NATO allies of “delinquent’’ defence spending, demanding they double it.

Donald Trump with Angela Merkel during their bilateral meeting in Brussels. Picture; AP.

Donald Trump has piled further pressure on NATO allies over their “delinquent” defence spending and demanded they double it after a combative start to the two day summit in Brussels.

After deriding Germany for being “totally controlled by” and “captive to” Russia’ because of their reliance on Russian gas, Mr Trump told leaders that defence spending should be increased to four per cent of gross domestic product.

The target is double the current target of two per cent that most countries are struggling to reach, but more in line with the United States’ current defence spending levels.

A White House official said Mr Trump’s remarks came as he urged leaders to increase their defence outlays in a closed-door meeting.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg had stressed for an improvement by all countries to deal with the burden-sharing question, highlighting how eight countries were near or above the two per cent goal, up from just three countries four years ago. The eight are the US, Estonia, Britain, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania and Romania.

When asked about Mr Trump’s request to raise defence targets to four per cent of GDP, Mr Stoltenberg said: “We committed to two per cent, let’s start with that, we have a way to go, but the good news is we have started.’’

Mr Trump has demanded other countries increase their defence spending because the generosity of the United States was being abused by European countries.

At a tense breakfast meeting with Mr Stoltenberg, Mr Trump took issue with the US protecting Germany as it strikes deals with Russia.

“It’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia where we’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” he said. “We protect you against Russia yet Germany pays billions to Russia, that’s very inappropriate.’’ He appeared to be referring to the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline that enriches Russia’s economy, bringing gas from Russia to Germany’s northeastern Baltic coast and doubling the amount of gas Russia can send directly to Germany.

He said many European countries had failed to fulfil a promise to contribute two per cent of their GDP to their own defence funding.

”It’s an unfair burden on us,’’ he said.

”Take a look at the chart, many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money, they are delinquent, for ten or twenty years, add it all up.’’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back firmly, insisting that Germany makes its own decisions and drawing on her own background growing up in communist East Germany behind the Iron Curtain.

“I’ve experienced myself a part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union and I’m very happy today that we are united in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and can thus say that we can determine our own policies and make our own decisions and that’s very good,” she said.