Trump claims victory after forcing NATO crisis talks

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Europe

01:03

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that “the United States’ commitment to NATO is very strong.”

The president made the remark at a press conference following a NATO summit in Brussels. Earlier reports said that he threatened to pull out of NATO, claiming allies were spending too little on defense.

US President Donald Trump arrives to hold a news conference after participating in the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

“We have a very powerful, very strong NATO, much stronger than it was two days ago,” he said.

Citing the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, he said: “Secretary Stoltenberg gives us total credit, meaning me, I guess, in this case, total credit. Because I said it was unfair.”

'Tough but successful' on defense spending

Trump said at the press conference that allies had sharply increased defense spending commitments after he provoked a crisis session with a tirade at European leaders.

“I told people that I would be very unhappy if they didn’t up their commitments,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a press conference on the second day of the NATO summit in Brussels, July 12, 2018. /VCGPhoto

He said that the other 28 allies had agreed to increase their defense spending more quickly to meet a NATO target of two percent of their national income within a few years.

The current commitment is to reach two percent by 2024 but with get-out terms that would allow some to stretch it out to 2030.

Trump stressed that NATO’s budget had been unfair to the US but now he was sure it would be fair. Allies would be increasing spending by 33 billion dollars or more, he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrive at the multilateral meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Resolute Support operational partner nations, during the NATO summit in Brussels, July 12, 2018. /VCGPhotoVCG Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron also said on Thursday France would meet its NATO-agreed goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense by 2024, saying cohesion within the NATO was only possible if the burden was shared "fairly."

Chancellor Angela Merkel also told NATO allies that Germany must do more in terms of defense spending.

"We had a very intense summit," Merkel told reporters, adding that Trump had demanded a change in the burden sharing within the alliance but in the end, everyone had made a clear commitment to NATO.

'Not sure' on Brexit

Trump said on Thursday he was not sure if Britain's new approach to Brexit was what the people had voted for, adding that Britain was in a "pretty hot spot" after two major resignations from Prime Minister Theresa May's government.

An anti-Trump placard is pictured near the Houses of Parliament as an anti-Trump protest gets underway in London on February 20, 2017, as parliament debated whether or not to allow Donald Trump a state visit. /VCG Photo

Asked about his views on Brexit just hours before he was due to arrive in Britain, Trump said "it's not for me to say. I'd like to see them be able to work it out so it could go quickly, whatever they work out.

"The people voted to break it up, so I imagine that's what they'll do. But maybe they're taking a little bit of a different route, so I don't know if that's what they voted for."

Putin meeting may be 'easiest' on Europe's trip

Trump said at the press conference that a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week may be the easiest on his Europe trip, saying Moscow was a competitor and not an enemy.

Asked if Putin presented a threat, Trump said, "I don't want him to be and that is why we have NATO."

Russian Matryoshka dolls depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on sale in the Ruslania bookstore in Helsinki, July 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

"He is a competitor," Trump told reporters. "Is he my enemy? He is not my enemy ... Hopefully someday maybe he will be a friend. I just don't know him very well.

"We go into that meeting not looking for so much. We want to find out about Syria. We will be talking about (election) meddling ... We will be talking about Ukraine."

(With inputs from agencies)

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