Recalling Donald Trump’s statement that European nations and Canada must further boost defence spending, Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured NATO partners of the United States’ commitment to the military transatlantic alliance during his first meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers.
We’re going to stay in NATO, as US President Trump has made clear,” Rubio told reporters in Brussels, emphasising that the US wants the alliance to be more resilient against any threats. He continued, “Our partners, the nation states that make up this significant alliance, must have greater capability if NATO is to become stronger and more viable.
According to the top US diplomat, he anticipates leaving Brussels with allies having made a clear commitment to increase defence spending from the current 2% of GDP, which some European nations, including Belgium, Italy, and Spain, still fall short of.
A full-scale ground battle in the centre of Europe serves as a reminder that hard force is still required as a deterrence, he said. “I understand that there are domestic politics after decades of building up vast social safety net that maybe don’t want to take that away and invest more in national security,” he added.
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