He United States Ambassador before the Take, Matthew Whitaker, He said Wednesday that he is confident that all allies join the commitment to allocate 5% of your GDP In defense and assured that he is working with all NATO members, including Spaceso that in the next summit in The Hague this figure is given free way. “We are working with all our allies to agree on this commitment in defense in The Hague, including with our Spanish friends,” said Whitaker, asked if Spain is now the only country that opposes this milestone and what would be the “consequences” for their relationship with NATO and Washington if you vetoed it. “We expect a very successful summit in The Hague and we hope that all our allies join the commitment,” added the ambassador.
Los NATO Defense Ministers They meet this Thursday in Brussels in the last meeting planned before the Summit of Allied Leaders Convened in The Hague on June 24 and 25 and in which it is expected to agree on a new military spending goal. The general secretary of the Alliance, Mark Ruttehas proposed that the allies invest 5% of their GDP in defense by 2032. Of that 5%, 3.5% would be allocated to pure military spending, while the remaining 1.5% would be invested in issues related to defense, such as infrastructure protection or cyberdefense.
The American ambassador said that it is still negotiating what will be included in that 5% and the calendar for its implementation, but rejected that the time to get to is a milestone is “unlimited” and urged not to have a situation such as the objective of 2% after the NATO summit in 2014, in which “many allies have not fulfilled up to ten or eleven years later.” “We are already seeing how the Kremlin points to the reconstruction of his army. NATO allies must get ahead of Russia. We have no other option,” said Whitaker, who pointed out that Moscow “will not wait” for NATO to be prepared to make the next movement.
The American ambassador said that Thursday’s ministerial meeting will be the opportunity for all allies to “align their commitments” and stressed that Washington hopes that they all have “concrete plans, budgets, calendars and milestones to meet the aim of 5% and fill the lagoons that still exist in terms of capabilities.” The allies will have to show significant progress in the increase in the increase in the increase in their defense budgets in front of the challenge. Our adversaries will not wait for us to be prepared, so we expect significant and credible growth of those defense budgets year after year, “he added.
