NATO Summit: Trump lashes out at allies over defense spending

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Europe

02:51

President Trump's brand of diplomacy is also sending the NATO military alliance into choppy waters. At a summit in Brussels, Trump lashed out at other NATO members for insufficient defense spending. The meeting on Wednesday saw members disagreeing on how much they should each spend on defense, and how fast they should reach their goals. CGTN's Ma Ke has the story.

The two-day summit kicked off with gestures of harmony, and a display of military might. It would not last long. Donald Trump was quick to bring up an old gripe, urging NATO allies, once again, to commit to spend the equivalent of 4 percent of GDP on defense -- double the current target.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "Many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money for many years back. Where their delinquent as far as I'm concerned because the United States has had to pay for them."

According to latest NATO estimates, the US spends up to 3.6-percent of GDP on defense, which pays for nearly 70 percent of NATO's bills.

Among NATO's 29 members, only the US, the UK, Estonia and Greece spend more than 2 percent of their GDP on defense. This year, Poland, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania are expected to reach that benchmark.

Other countries find Trump's 4-percent request too much of a leap from existing target that they must meet by 2024.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have both refused Trump's request, saying they will stick to the current plan of 2 percent. NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said members should first focus on achieving the more manageable goal.

JENS STOLTENBERG NATO SECRETARY GENERAL "And that's exactly why all our allies agreed that those who are spending less than 2 percent have to spend more. And that's exactly what we have started to do, because we have turned a corner of the years of cutting defence budgets."

President Trump also made Germany a target at this year's summit, slamming the country as a "captive of Russia". He urged the Germans to pour more money into defense rather than, in his words, "making Russia richer".

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will get 60 to 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline. You tell me if that's appropriate. I think it's not. "

And Merkel hit back.

ANGELA MERKEL GERMAN CHANCELLOR "We manage our independent policies and make our independent decisions."

In the more intimate setting of a bilateral meeting, Trump changed his tone, saying he has a very good relationship with Chancellor. Leaders are expected to discuss regional security issues on Thursday.