In a tweet on Monday, US President Donald Trump once again demanded that NATO countries contribute more to the alliance in terms of defense spending.
He stressed that the situation with some NATO members spending less on the alliance is "not fair, nor is it acceptable."
Trump added that "NATO benefits Europe far more than it does the US," recalling that "the US is paying for 90% of NATO, with many countries nowhere close to their 2% commitment."
The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable. While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more. Germany is at 1%, the U.S. is at 4%, and NATO benefits…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 9 июля 2018 г.
…Europe far more than it does the U.S. By some accounts, the U.S. is paying for 90% of NATO, with many countries nowhere close to their 2% commitment. On top of this the European Union has a Trade Surplus of $151 Million with the U.S., with big Trade Barriers on U.S. goods. NO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 9 июля 2018 г.
His remarks came a week after US Defense Secretary James Mattis wrote a letter to his British counterpart Gavin Williamson to warn that the two countries' special relationship will be damaged if London fails to increase its defense spending on NATO.
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Mattis made it clear that while the UK may want to "remain the US partner of choice," France is already boosting its defense spending as it is willing to replace Britain in this respect.
In a separate development last week, Trump sent personal letters to the leaders of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands, urging them to spend more on defense and calling their current share in the NATO budget "unfair."
The Trump administration has repeatedly pressured European states to inject greater sums in NATO, citing most EU countries' inability to meet the alliance's defense spending target of 2 percent of their GDP.
