Trump may skip NATO summit if allies don't boost defense budget
President Donald Trump may not attend the June North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in The Hague if member states do not increase their defense spending, according to U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker.
What do you need to know?
- U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker warns of President Donald Trump's potential absence from the NATO summit in The Hague.
- He suggests this could happen if member states fail to "take action" on financial issues.
- This information was reported by the German weekly "Der Spiegel" on Friday.
Confidential reports from the headquarters in Brussels indicate that Whitaker persistently calls for an increase in defense spending from two to five percent of GDP. The editorial notes that for Germany, this would mean raising expenditures to 229 billion dollars.
Did Germany not take the demands seriously? "Now they take him at his word"
"Der Spiegel" reports that until recently, Germany viewed these demands as part of a U.S. negotiation strategy and did not take them seriously.
"Currently, Germany takes Whitaker at his word, especially when he threatens that Donald Trump will not participate in the June summit if other NATO countries do not take financial action," reads the German weekly's portal.
The defense ministry's budget for the current year amounts to 57 billion dollars. This sum is supplemented by funds from a special fund created in 2022 for the Bundeswehr, totaling 107 billion dollars.
