US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the "hysteria" surrounding the possible US withdrawal from Europe, assuring that the United States would "remain" in NATO.

"President Trump has made it clear that he supports NATO. We will stay in NATO," he said on his arrival at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, condemning the "hysteria" of some of the world and US press on the issue.

He also confirmed that the United States expects all NATO countries to dramatically increase their military spending, devoting at least 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to it, AFP reported.

The US president is sowing doubts about the sustainability of US support for NATO at a time when he believes he has been footing the bill for the US security umbrella for years without any compensation from the Europeans.

This is the US diplomatic chief's first visit to the Atlantic Alliance headquarters in Brussels and his second to Europe since attending the Munich security conference in mid-February.

The trip comes at the height of transatlantic tensions, with Donald Trump's trade war and Washington's spectacular rapprochement with Moscow worrying European allies in Kiev.

"The United States is as active within NATO as never before. Some of the hysteria and hyperbole I see in the global media and in some national media in the United States about NATO is not justified," Rubio said.

"But we want NATO to be stronger. We want NATO to be more viable. And the only way for NATO to become stronger and more viable is for our partners to have more capabilities," he continued.

"I understand that there are domestic political considerations, after decades of creating huge social safety nets, some may not want to be without them and invest more in national security, but the events of the last few years have been on a massive scale," the US Secretary of State stressed, referring to the war in Europe.

"That's why we want to leave here knowing that we are on the right track, a realistic track, so that every member commits and delivers on its promise to reach 5% of (defence) spending, which includes the US, which will have to increase its percentage", he pointed out.

That issue is expected to dominate the next NATO summit this summer in The Hague, Netherlands. | BGNES