THE HAGUE—Top NATO and U.S. officials said President Trump is “committed” to the Western alliance, but cautioned that a sea change is coming—one that will result in Europe being in charge of its own defense.
“My message to my European colleagues is ‘stop worrying so much.’ Start to make sure that you get investment plans down, that you get [the] industrial base up and running, that the support for Ukraine remains at a high level. This is what you should work on, and stop running around being worried about the U.S. They are there. They are with us,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday during the two-day NATO Summit.
But, Rutte continued, that support requires NATO members to “equalize” their defense spending with that of the United States.
“There is total commitment by the U.S. president and the U.S. senior leadership to NATO. However, it comes with an expectation…that we will finally deal with this huge pebble issue, this huge irritant, which is that we are not spending enough,” Rutte said. “I think it’s fair that we take a bigger share of this burden as Europeans and Canadians from the United States.”
Ahead of the summit, NATO members agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP. Under the agreement, 3.5% would be spent on “core-defense,” while 1.5% would be spent on security-related initiatives. But Spain has already said it will opt out of the goal.
Rutte’s statements were affirmed by U.S. NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker, who said at the summit that the U.S. will be a “reliable ally” but cautioned that Europe now holds responsibility for its own defense—an effort that’s been “almost 77 years in the making.”
Whitaker said there will be a “recommitment” to Article 5 of the bloc’s treaty, which calls for collective defense, and to Article 3, which means that each country has to invest in individual defense.
But what “commitment” means to President Trump remains to be seen. On his way to The Hague, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that his obligation to Article 5 “depends” on the definition, but that he’s “committed to being their friends” and “helping” some European leaders.
Trump, who has questioned other allies’ fidelity, has long criticized NATO members for relying on the U.S. and not spending enough on defense. The U.S. is mulling posture changes in Europe and plans to start discussions about troop reductions after the summit. At the summit, European officials are bracing for Trump’s arrival tomorrow, but hope that an increased spending pledge will soothe his often-tense relationship with NATO.
Europe also hopes new military spending will deter more aggression from Russia, which is on year three of its war on Ukraine.
Rutte praised Trump for “breaking the deadlock” on direct talks with Vladimir Putin, even though Russia was “not serious” in those initial peace talks.
“Hopefully serious talks will start in the near future, and then we have to make sure that whatever long-term ceasefire or the peace deal with Ukraine will be that it is lasting, that it is durable,” the NATO leader said. And in the meantime, Europe has to help Ukraine so it’s “in the strongest possible position when real talks will start.”
