Trump reaffirms support for NATO amid disarray
President Donald BRUSSELS — Trump reaffirmed support for NATO on Thursday, but only after stirring discord by saying that the United States could go its own way if the allies resisted his requests for additional military spending.
Even as he declared that the U.S. commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance “remains very strong” before his summit next week with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, he continued criticize close partners and strain diplomatic relations.
In the closing hours of the two-day gathering in Brussels with leaders of the other NATO nations, he addressed his grievances over spending. Then he called a news conference to say he pressured NATO members to increase their defense budgets “like they never have before.”
That statement was quickly dismissed by the leaders of both Italy and France, who said that they had made any new pledges for boosting spending, adding to the sense of disarray.
Through it all, possible threats from Russia — and NATO’s plans to keep it in check — hung over the summit, as fears in Europe have risen over Putin’s increasing assertiveness.
On Thursday, Trump dismissed concerns that his relationship with Russia was too cozy, or that his hardball tactics at NATO had played into the hands of Putin, whom he is to meet in Helsinki next week. But after 48 hours of conflict with allies — and the second international summit in two months where he has sparred openly with European leaders — he said he looked forward to a positive The United States pays 22 percent of NATO’s budget, which covers things like offices, salaries and some equipment used in joint operations. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, of the $603 billion that the United States spends on the military each year, about $31 billion goes to Europe. — NEW YORK TIMES encounter with the Russian president.
“I hope that we’re going to be able to get along with Russia; I think that we probably will be able to,” Trump said. “We go into that meeting not looking for so much.”
The White House called the news conference amid reports that Trump had told member countries they were still not spending enough on their militaries. The president said he deserved “total credit” for pushing the allies to increase their military spending by more than previously agreed to.
According to a person briefed on the meeting, Trump told other NATO leaders that if their countries did not meet the 2 percent standard by January, the United States “would go it alone,” a comment that some interpreted as a threat to withdraw from the alliance. (Other news reports quoted diplomats who said the president used slightly different wording — saying that he would “do my own thing” — but he was not specific about what he meant in either case.)
Trump sidestepped questions about whether he had threatened to abruptly leave the alliance, and said, “I think I probably can, but that’s unnecessary,” because, he said, member countries “have stepped up today like they’ve never stepped up before.”
“The United States was not being treated fairly, but now we are,” Trump said. “I believe in NATO. I think NATO’s a very important — probably the greatest ever done.”
But Trump then quickly turned to asserting that the United States shouldered “probably 90 percent of the cost of NATO.” U.S. contributions actually represent about 67 percent of all military expenditures by alliance members.