BRUSSELS -- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that its European members and Canada have ramped up defence spending to record levels, as he warned that former U.S. president Donald Trump was undermining their security by calling into question the U.S. commitment to its allies.
Stoltenberg said U.S. partners in NATO have spent US$600 billion more on their military budgets since 2014 when Russia鈥檚 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine prompted them all to reverse the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War ended.
鈥淟ast year we saw an unprecedented rise of 11 per cent across European allies and Canada,鈥� Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of the organization鈥檚 defence ministers in Brussels.
In 2014, NATO leaders committed to move toward spending two per cent of their gross domestic product on defence within a decade. It has mostly been slow going, but Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine two years ago focused minds. The two-per-cent figure is now considered a minimum requirement.
鈥淭his year, I expect 18 allies to spend two per cent of the GDP on defence. That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met the target,鈥� Stoltenberg said.
On Saturday, Trump, the front-runner in the U.S. for the Republican Party鈥檚 nomination this year, said he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO members that are 鈥渄elinquent鈥� in devoting two per cent of GDP to defence.
U.S. President Joe Biden branded Trump鈥檚 remarks 鈥渄angerous鈥� and 鈥渦n-American,鈥� seizing on the former president鈥檚 comments as they fuel doubt among U.S. partners about its future dependability on the global stage.
Stoltenberg said those comments call into question the credibility of NATO鈥檚 collective security commitment 鈥� Article 5 of the organization鈥檚 founding treaty, which says that an attack on any member country will be met with a response from all of them.
鈥淭he whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally,鈥� Stoltenberg said.
鈥淎ny suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us,鈥� he said.
Trump鈥檚 comments have not only sent a wave of unease through Europe but are also likely to be a major topic of conversation at the annual Munich Security Conference, starting later this week in the Bavarian city.
Both U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be present at the event that American officials hoped would concentrate more on immediate security concerns in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as challenges posed by China and the importance of multilateralism in collective defence.
The top U.S. diplomat for Europe, James O鈥橞rien, said Tuesday that Blinken would be prepared to address questions about America鈥檚 commitment to NATO allies and issues related to Trump鈥檚 comments. But he also sought to downplay European concerns, noting that NATO has been a cornerstone of European security for more than seven decades.
O鈥橞rien told reporters that U.S. administrations from the Democratic and Republican parties "have regarded NATO as the bedrock of our security, certainly in Europe but increasingly a global partner.鈥�
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assailed Trump鈥檚 comments without mentioning the former president by name. He posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying that 鈥渁ny relativization of NATO鈥檚 support guarantee is irresponsible and dangerous, and is in the interest of Russia alone鈥� and that 鈥渘o one can play, or 鈥榙eal,鈥� with Europe鈥檚 security.鈥�
Scholz's spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that while 鈥渟uch comments are dangerous,鈥� it is also 鈥渋mportant to stress鈥� they "have no influence on pressing NATO action.鈥�
Lee reported from Munich, Germany. Associated Press Writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
