Donald Trump: America is spending more on NATO than any other country
US Defense Secretary James Mattis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have agreed to work together to persuade member states to commit to fairer burden-sharing.
 |
| US Secretary of Defense James Mattis (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (Source: nato.int) |
“The leaders discussed a range of defense issues and agreed to work together in consultation with NATO allies on more equitable burden sharing,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a press release.
According to the press release, the two sides also discussed NATO's readiness and flexibility during the extensive talks at the Pentagon. US Defense Secretary James Mattis appreciated NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg's continued encouragement of NATO allies to meet their commitment to increase their contributions to the bloc's common security.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized member countries of this military alliance for not spending enough on defense. President Trump also affirmed that the US is spending more on NATO than any other country, which is unfair and unacceptable.
According to NATO, only 5 out of 29 NATO member countries, including Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the UK and the US, are currently meeting their commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defense./.
