US defense chief threatens to reduce NATO commitment

BRUSSELS (AFP) – US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Wednesday bluntly warned NATO allies to meet their spending pledges or else the Donald Trump administration would ''moderate its commitment'' to the transatlantic alliance.

Mattis's ultimatum to his counterparts in Brussels follows years of calls by Washington for NATO members to spend two percent of their GDP on defense, a goal few meet despite agreeing on it at a summit in 2014.

But Mattis's strongly worded call for cash carries extra weight as it comes after Trump has said US help for NATO allies, already worried by the threat from Russia, might be contingent on how much they have paid.

''Americans cannot care more for your children's future security than you do,'' retired marine general Mattis said in prepared remarks to defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels.