ADVERTISEMENTSecretary of State Marco Rubio reassured NATO allies for the United States’s commitment to the military transatlantic alliance at his first NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, while recalling Donald Trump’s message that European countries and Canada have to further increase defense expenses.
“The President of the United States, Trump, clearly supported NATO, we are going to stay in NATO,” Rubio told journalists in Brussels, stressing that the United States wants the alliance to be stronger against any potential threat.
“The only way in which NATO can become stronger and more viable is that if our partners, the nation states that make up this important alliance, have more capacities,” he added.
The best American diplomat said that he expects to let Brussels with a clear commitment from the Allies to spend 5% of their GDP in defense – an increase compared to the current 2%, that certain European countries, such as Belgium, Italy and Spain, still cannot meet.
“I understand that there is an internal policy after decades of construction of large social security nets which may not want to withdraw and invest more in national security, but a large-scale land war at the heart of Europe is a reminder that difficult power is still necessary as a deterrence,” he said.
Rubio’s comments intervened after Donald Trump said last month that the United States would not defend his allies unless it increased charity within the Alliance. “It’s common sense, no,” Trump told journalists at the oval office in early March. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
The Transatlantic Alliance currently assesses its shortcomings on capacities before engaging in a new objective of defense expenditure, but a final figure is not expected before the annual NATO summit in June in The Hague.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that NATO European members have recently joined the highest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War, although he agreed with the United States that more must be done.
“I am assuming that what we have to spend, Canadians and Europeans together will be north of 3%,” said former Dutch Prime Minister on the two -day meeting of the alliances ministers in Brussels.
Rubio stressed that the increase in defense expenses to 5% cannot be carried out “in a year or two”, but the United States now requires a real way to follow its allies to build a stronger NATO capable of defending its territories.
The NATO chief also warned that the world security threats faced by the Alliance are increasingly interconnected and that the Russian threat will persist for many years.
“We see what China does. We see how these two theaters, the inner Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic become more and more connected by the fact that the Russians work with the North Koreans, with the Chinese, with Iran, we must therefore examine all these theaters in conjunction and it will be our goal, “he said.
NATO European members also expect clear messages or a Rubio roadmap concerning the American withdrawal of European troops, where around 100,000 American soldiers are stationed. However, the American Secretary of State has not yet addressed the issue, and Rutte said that no immediate withdrawal was planned.
“There are no plans for them (the United States) for suddenly, suddenly attract its presence here in Europe, but we know that for America being superpower, they must take care of more theaters than one,” said Rutte.
Some NATO members consider that the United States could reduce its presence by around 20,000 to 50,000 soldiers.
ADVERTISEMENTThe NATO Secretary General acknowledged that the United States had long been looking for his attention to the Indo-Pacific but assured that this would be “very coordinated”.
