The Secretary General of NATO announced the unprecedented increase in the defense costs of the members
The Secretary General of NATO announced the unprecedented increase in the defense spending of the European allies and Canada last year and announced that more than half of the members will achieve the military budget target of 2% of GDP this year. |
The Western official also said: “In the year 2024, allies in Europe will invest a total of 380 billion dollars in the field of defense, which is equivalent to two percent of the projected collective gross domestic product of the countries. “Stoltenberg” asked the other 13 NATO countries to fulfill their commitments quickly. He reminded the decision of last year’s summit, based on which all the member countries of the coalition wanted to increase their defense expenses. He emphasized: This two percent is the minimum.
Also for For the first time since the early 1990s, Germany could meet the two percent target, a defense ministry spokesman in Berlin confirmed on Wednesday. He declined to give a specific number because the information is classified as confidential. According to German news agency estimates, this amount is $73.41 billion. In absolute terms, this is a record for Germany and, according to current NATO forecasts, means a GDP ratio of 2.01 percent.
Germany with a sharp increase Defense spending, particularly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Berlin, by significantly strengthening deterrence and defense, it should become clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that an attack on a European NATO country would have no chance of success.
Stoltenberg emphasized that a strong NATO It also benefits the US “because it makes the US stronger”. He reminded that this military alliance has only once in its history activated Article 5 of the NATO Treaty regarding the task of providing assistance, and that was after the attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001.
Stoltenberg stressed As long as we’re together, we’re safe.
Former US President Donald Trump’s remarks recently hit the headlines when he questioned the defense coalition aid clause during a campaign appearance. It made a lot of noise: Trump said he didn’t want to support coalition partners with inadequate defense spending if Russia attacked. He emphasized that on the contrary, he “encourages even Russia to do whatever it wants”. As the president of the United States, Trump repeatedly threatened NATO countries that have invested less than two percent of their economic power in defense, that he will end American support.
At the same time, Stoltenberg Additional nuclear deterrence system opposed in Europe. He said: “We have the NATO nuclear deterrent, and this has provided security guarantees to NATO allies for decades.” It is important to ensure that the system remains efficient, secure and reliable. Stoltenberg described U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Europe as the core of the nuclear deterrent, which countries such as Germany could contribute to through so-called nuclear sharing. He said: Another component of nuclear deterrence is the nuclear weapons possessed by the European NATO countries, England and France. Recently, Trump’s anti-NATO statements have sparked discussions about the need for independent nuclear deterrence in Europe.
In this regard, the Minister of Finance of Germany has announced that he wants to discuss this with the French President. In a speech, he expressed doubt that Europe would be protected by the nuclear umbrella of the United States from now on. This European official also raised the issue of an independent European nuclear deterrent.
Publisher | Tasnim News |