NATO members agree military spending hike - but fail to condemn Russia's war on Ukraine
NATO allies including Donald Trump have reaffirmed their 'ironclad commitment' to collective defence after an emergency summit at The Hague.
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The commitment to collective defence, which Trump had been skeptical about ahead of the summit, came alongside an official commitment from all member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Raising spending to 5% is a move the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, has been pushing states to commit to in order to appease Trump, who has claimed it is unfair that the US spends more than other members.
But the declaration suggests a compromise has been reached, as Trump confirms his commitment to collective defence as long as other members share the financial burden more equally.
Before flying to the summit, Donald Trump once again refused to confirm the United States is committed to NATO’s Article Five, the alliance’s founding principle.
Every member of NATO must agree to the article, which states that if one member state is attacked, the others come to its defence.
Speaking on Tuesday as he travelled to the summit in the Netherlands, Trump refused to say he was “committed” to the principle, raising fears among member states about the US' commitment to the alliance.
But the President has now seemingly agreed to the principle, which will relieve pressure on other member states who rely on America's financial and military contributions.
The US president has relentlessly criticised European states for not paying enough compared to the US, which contributes the most financially.
He has also repeatedly threatened to pull out of NATO if members don't spend more, accusing states of taking advantage of America's more powerful military.
"United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending by 2035," the declaration read.
Sir Keir Starmer said it was "the moment to unite, for Europe to make a fundamental shift in its posture", and that the commitment to 5% will make the alliance "stronger, fairer and more lethal than ever".
"This includes military spending as well as vital investments in our security and resilience, like protecting our cyber security and our energy networks," he said.
Starmer said the Nato summit had sent a "decisive message to aggressors".
Notably missing from the communique was a condemnation of Russia's war on Ukraine, or any reference to Ukraine's potential membership into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The alliance has previously said Kyiv was on an "irreversible path" to membership, which Donald Trump - and Russian president Vladimir Putin - strongly oppose.
The only mention of the war comes in the context of spending - the paragraph reads: "Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine's defence and its defence industry when calculating Allies' defence spending."
Nato's secretary general praised the declaration and member states' commitment to raising defence spending to 5%, saying: "This is a significant commitment in response to significant threats to our security."
This is "all to ensure we can effectively deter aggression and defend ourselves and each other should anyone make the mistake of attacking."
He adds: "All allies are united in understanding that we need to step up to stay safe and they are acting on it.
"President Trump has been clear, America is committed to NATO. He affirmed that again today in no uncertain terms. At the same time, he made clear America expects European allies to commit more, and that is what we see them doing."