Trump warns Spain over refusal to boost defense spending
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
Spain faces tough measures from the US if Madrid continues to refuse to raise its defense spending to 5% of GDP, stated US President Donald Trump, according to The Guardian.
The American leader noted that Spain remains the only NATO country refusing to increase its defense budget.
"I think it's too bad. We'll make it up. We're negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We're going to make them pay twice as much. And I'm actually serious about that," Trump said.
The President added that Spain is a "great place" with great people, but currently the Spanish government wants "a little bit of a free ride" at the expense of other NATO countries.
"But they'll have to pay it back to us on trade, because I’m not going to let that happen. It’s unfair," he added.
A concession for Spain
On June 22, it became known that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reached an agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that Spain would not be required to raise its defense spending to 5% of GDP.
According to the agreement, Spain will fulfill its commitments to NATO without the need to increase its defense investments.
It is worth noting that the NATO summit today, June 25, approved the new defense spending target of 5% of GDP.
