Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, said it was “not a difficult thing” to get members to agree to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP because of the rising threat from Russia – and stressed that Trump remained “absolutely” committed to supporting the alliance, News.Az reports citing the Guardian.
In an interview on the eve of the western alliance’s summit, Rutte told the Guardian that all 32 members had agreed to increase defence spending because “there is so much at stake” after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under the planned agreement, Nato members would commit to raising defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, with an additional 1.5% allocated to broader security-related investments, including cybersecurity and intelligence.
Rutte said: “The security situation has changed so much, and people know that when the call comes [in the event an attack on a Nato member] … you now need to deliver to the collective endeavour, what you promised, that you better have your stuff there.”
It is a critical moment for the alliance, with the war in Ukraine now in its fourth year after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and the risk of a worsening conflict in the Middle East despite Donald Trump’s declaration of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Speaking in his home town of The Hague, Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister, described Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” to Nato, warning that Moscow could be capable of launching an attack on alliance members within three to five years.
“It’s clear that they [Russia] want to extend their territory,” Rutte said. “For a couple of years now, they’ve been reconstituting themselves rapidly.”
