“Some allies are strongly in favor of raising the 02% target and converting it to a minimum,” he said, before specifying that he will lead this type of conversation.
“We will meet, we will have our meetings at the ministerial level. Let’s talk money,” he said.
In this sense, Stoltenberg hinted that he is sure that member states will be able to reach an agreement in view of the next summit, scheduled for July 11 and 12 in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
Currently, the target is for NATO members to contribute at least 02% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defense by 2024, a subject that was agreed in Wales in 2014, after the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Stoltenberg did not specify which allied countries are now asking for an increase in this limit. Countries such as Poland, Lithuania and the United Kingdom have expressed their agreement with increased funding in the face of the advance of Russian troops in Ukraine.
However, Germany, Canada and Belgium, among others, have expressed their rejection of this measure, given that they invest less than 02% of GDP in defence.
The dispute over the increase in this budget has particularly intensified under the mandate of the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has even accused the German government and other European allies of wanting to provoke the withdrawal of the States States of the Atlantic Alliance. .
CSR // APN
By Impala News / Lusa
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