BRUSSELS — NATO is rock solid and so is the United States’ commitment to the alliance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said today, a reaction to growing worry about American disengagement from Europe under President Donald Trump.
“The Americans have stated again and again they are committed to NATO, to Article 5 … I’m absolutely convinced this alliance is there to stay, with the U.S.,” he told reporters.
That commitment comes “with a clear expectation, the expectation that on this side of the Atlantic and Canada, we will spend more” on defense, he added.
The alliance’s target is to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense, but Trump wants that raised to 5 percent. Rutte has talked of “considerably north of 3 percent.”
The issue will come up at the alliance foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
Trump’s comments about not defending NATO countries not spending enough on defense and his threats to invade Greenland are raising doubts about Washington’s commitment to NATO and Europe’s defense.
The Washington Post reported plans to start moving U.S. troops and weapons from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, while NBC News wrote the U.S. administration may hand the role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the alliance’s top military job, to a European.
Rutte dismissed questions about the reports. “These are what-if questions. I’ve seen nothing more than these rumors and reports. I’ve not seen any concrete proposals on this,” he said.
“There are no plans to withdraw or whatever, we know that the U.S. is completely committed to NATO,” he added.
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