NATO said on Wednesday that Europe had increased its spending on defence and the United States needed allies, days after former U.S. president Donald Trump suggested that Washington might not protect countries that did not spend enough.
“I expect 18 allies to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence this year,” Jens Stoltenberg said at a media conference in Brussels, adding overall military spending was set for another record year after two years of Russia’s full-fledged war against Ukraine.
The number was higher than last year, when 11 of NATO’s 31 members were expected to reach the agreed target.
Trump shocked
