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Donald Trump’s team tells European officials that the next US president will demand that NATO allies increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP), but military aid to Ukraine will continue. He said it was a plan.
The U.S. president-elect’s closest foreign policy aides shared the president’s intentions in a meeting with European officials this month as he solidifies policy on Europe and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the talks. That’s what it means.
While campaigning in the White House, President Trump vowed to cut aid to Ukraine, force Kiev into immediate peace talks, leave NATO allies defenseless unless they spent enough on defense, and pledged to It surprised the capital.
But in a move that backs up an ally deeply concerned about its ability to support and protect Ukraine without Washington’s help, Trump’s decision to move ahead with the U.S. government’s move to support allies deeply concerned about their ability to support and protect Ukraine without support from the U.S. government, said three other people briefed on the talks with Western officials. The president reportedly intends to maintain the supply of U.S. military supplies to Kiev even after taking office.
At the same time, President Trump plans to ask NATO to more than double its 2% spending goal to 5%, which only 23 of 32 NATO members currently meet, according to a statement about the conversation. This was revealed by two people involved.
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One source said it was understood that President Trump would compromise on 3.5%, and that he had a plan to clearly link increased defense spending to more favorable trade terms with the United States. Another European official who was briefed on President Trump’s thoughts said, “It’s clear that we’re talking about 3% or more approval (at the NATO Hague summit in June).”
NATO allies are already discussing raising the target to 3% at their June summit, but many capitals are concerned about the difficult financial decisions that would be needed to do so.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the United States plans to spend about 3.1% of GDP on defense in 2024. In 2020, President Trump’s final year in office, Pentagon spending reached 3.4%.
Major NATO allies in Europe, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, met in Brussels on Wednesday night with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss how the continent will respond to President Trump’s return. We discussed how to adapt our defense policy to reflect this.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with President Trump separately during Thursday’s EU summit. Scholz later told reporters that he was “very confident that the United States and Europe will continue to support Ukraine.” Top British security officials visited Washington earlier this month to assess the president-elect’s plans.
Although President Trump still believes Ukraine should never be admitted to NATO and wants an immediate end to the conflict, the president-elect has decided that by arming Kiev after a ceasefire, the outcome of “peace through force” will be reduced. He added that he believed it would be certain.
After 24 hours of talks with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) leaders in Brussels this week, President Zelensky said on Thursday that European commitments to defend Ukraine “are not enough” without US involvement. said.
Additional reporting from London by George Parker
