Trump budget requests, Iran to divide NATO Summit Focus | NATO news

While NATO leaders are preparing to come together Hague Tuesday, efforts to satisfy the call of American president Donald Trump to a major objective of defense spending could be overshadowed by the repercussions American soldiers strike on Iran.

Trump has required That NATO allies undertake to spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense during their two -day gathering, from Tuesday.

The summit is also intended to report to the Russian president Vladimir Putin that NATO is united, despite Trump’s previous criticism with regard to the Alliance, and determined to extend and modernize its defenses to dissuade any attack from Moscow.

On Monday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said that the new commitment to defense expenses to be announced at the top was fundamental to ensuring that the alliance can dissuade Russia.

“The Defense Investment Plan that the Allies will suit the Hague introduces a new reference base, 5% of the GDP to invest in the defense,” said Rutte.

“This is an ambitious, historical and fundamental quantum leap to ensure our future.”

THE American bombardment Iranian nuclear sites this weekend, however, the summit makes much less predictable than Rutte – a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands welcoming the rally in his hometown – and other member countries of NATO would like.

In 2003, the war led by the United States against Iraq deeply divided NATO, while France and Germany led the opposition to the attack, while Great Britain and Spain joined the coalition.

European allies and Canada also want Ukraine Be at the top of the summit agenda, but they are wary that Trump does not want President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to steal the spotlight.

Iran adds uncertainty

Many will depend on the precise situation in the Middle East when the summit will take place – as if Iran retaliated against the United States – and if the other NATO leaders are addressed to the strikes with Trump or in the comments to journalists.

Rutte told journalists on Monday that Iran strikes over the weekend had not violated international law.

Kimberly Halkett of Al Jazeera said that current European leaders are focusing on diplomacy as a way for de -escalation and the limitation of Iran to have nuclear weapons. However, climbing in fighting, including Iran targeting From an American military base in Qatar on Monday, makes diplomacy more difficult.

“Given the escalation that has taken place in recent days, it is a task that has become much more difficult to accomplish, which is why this meeting (at the top of NATO) has become so much more critical,” reported Halkett at Washington, DC.

Explaining from the Hague, the Ahelbarra Hachem of Al Jazeera said that the consensus of the NATO allies is almost universal: “blame the Iranians so as not to appear in the past and negotiate an outcome with the international community and with the IAEA”.

A dangerous moment for NATO

If the meeting does not take place as expected, the risks of NATO seemed weak and divided, as did its European members see Russia as in its most dangerous since the end of the Cold War and are preparing for possible cuts of American troops on the continent.

Putin rejected NATO on Monday said that Russia could one day attack a member of the Alliance as lies that the Western powers use to justify large military expenses.

As part of the new NATO defense spending plan, countries would spend 3.5% of GDP for “basic defense” – such as arms, troops – and an additional 1.5% for safety -related investments such as adaptation of roads, ports and bridges for military vehicles, protection of pipelines and the deterrence of cyberattacks.

Such an increase – to progress in more than 10 years – would mean hundreds of billions of dollars More expenses in defense.

“The reason they do is that when Trump arrives in The Hague, they will tell him: listen, we have listened to your concerns, therefore, we are now engaged in the 5% references that you have spoken in the past,” said Ahelberra.

Trump has long insisted that it is time for Europeans to take the financial and military burden more to defend their continent.

Rutte said on Monday that Spain had not obtained a “resumption” of the commitment, despite the fact that Madrid claimed that he had agreed that he would not have to reach the figure of 5%.

Last year, the members of the Alliance collectively spent around 2.6% of NATO GDP on the basic defense, or about 1.3 billion of dollars, according to NATO estimates. The lion’s share came from the United States, which spent nearly $ 818 billion.

The leaders of the European Union, said Ahelberra, “want to convince Trump that NATO takes into account its requests, but they are looking forward to being able to convince Trump to continue to team up with the military allies to tackle many problems … especially Ukraine.”

“They don’t want Americans to abandon the Ukrainians. They do not want to see the Americans negotiating a regulation with Putin without taking into account the real concerns of Ukraine, “he added.