French Defense Minister Vows to Bring Country’s Defense Spending to 2% of GDP

MUNICH (Sputnik) —According to Drian, the defense spending will be brought up to 1.8 percent of the GDP in the near future, and will then rise to 2 percent.

During his presidential campaign, US President Donald Trump criticized NATO for its members’ non-compliance with the commitment to spend 2 percent of the GDP on their defense.

Jean-Yves Le Drian has also called for a swift North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reaction in case Russia violates the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Earlier in the day, The New York Times reported that Russia has secretly deployed a ground-based cruise missile in violation of the 1987 INF Treaty.

The treaty prohibits the development, deployment or testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles. It was implemented by 1991 with inspections carrying on until 2001.

"If it [INF Treaty] is not adhered to, we must react as soon as possible," Jean-Yves Le Drian said at the Munich Security Conference.

On Tuesday, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik that US media reports on Russia's alleged violation of the INF could not be taken seriously, since the accusations were baseless and no evidence or facts had been provided.

Russia has been previously accused of violating the INF Treaty by the United States. Russia has rejected the accusations, and said that the United States deploying its Europe-based missile defense system violates the treaty.

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