NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has insisted that US President Donald Trump has not undermined the alliance's Article Five commitment to collective defence. He said the US conventional presence would remain in Europe, AFP reported.
"Article five he has not undermined. He is committed to NATO, he is committed to Article Five," Rutte said.
Trump has alarmed allies by threatening to defend only those he believes are spending enough on defence as he urges them to increase their military budgets.
His administration has also raised the possibility of trying to move forces out of Europe to focus on threats elsewhere, such as China.
"The agenda is not for the US to leave NATO or to leave Europe, the US is here. They're going to move more towards Asia, so over time that may mean they have to rebalance. But there is now and will remain in Europe a nuclear and also a conventional US presence," Rutte said.
European countries have said that if Trump is indeed planning to withdraw his forces from the continent, he should coordinate with them so as not to leave gaps for Russia.
"I assume and expect that this will be done in the spirit of no surprises," Rutte added.
NATO's secretary general defended his own refusal to criticise the erratic US leader, insisting he was meeting with Trump on efforts to increase spending and end the war in Ukraine.
"When it comes to the issues that I'm focused on, and this is Ukraine, this is NATO territory, we're really of the same mind," he said.
Rutte was speaking after a meeting of allied foreign ministers at which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked them to agree on a "realistic path" for spending 5% of GDP on defence.
That figure seems out of reach for most allies and is even significantly higher than what the United States is currently spending.
Rutte also said a "content-based process" would now begin to examine the necessary military requirements as the alliance seeks to propose a new spending target for the June summit in The Hague.
"I think we now have to come to a number, possibly in billions or in percentages, but then also to a common path," he said. | BGNES
