The former president also believes that accounting rules should be changed so that spending on military aid to Ukraine is not included in this increase of up to 3% of GDP.
Donald Trump is considering plans to encourage NATO members to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP if he wins a second term in the White House, writes the British “The Telegraph” publication.
The former US president believes that given the threats posed by Russia and China, member states should be asked to contribute more to the alliance’s collective defense.
He also believes that accounting rules should be changed so that spending on military aid to Ukraine does not count towards this 3% target – such a new policy would result in countries paying more for war spending than NATO’s 3% target.
A source close to Trump said he had been considering lobbying the alliance for an increase for some time, but was further persuaded after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda last month.
“His thoughts are turning to 3%, especially after the conversation with A. Duda, and this is not including the money allocated to Ukraine,” said the source.
Trump’s meetings with Duda were also reportedly instrumental in convincing the former US president to drop his opposition to the long-delayed $61 billion deal. dollars for the package of aid to Kiev.
Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to end US aid to NATO allies if member states do not increase their defense budgets.
Last year, only 11 of the alliance’s 32 members, including the United Kingdom, met the current target. Other countries included the United States, which is the largest overall contributor, as well as Poland, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia and Denmark.
Luxembourg, which had the lowest defense budget in relation to GDP, allocated only 1% of the funds, while Belgium and Spain – 1.2%.
Andrzej Duda previously said that 3% – a level reached only by Poland, the US and Greece – was needed to protect against “growing threats”, including Russia starting a “direct confrontation with NATO”.
On Tuesday, senior EU defense official Timo Pesonen said some member states were already discussing the 3% target behind closed doors.
“When NATO allies increase their budgets to at least one percent of GDP, some people are already talking about 3 percent,” he said.
in 2023 The United Kingdom spent 2.28% of GDP on defense and plans to increase spending to 2.32% in the 2024-25 financial year.
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that Britain’s spending would rise to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade – a total of £75bn. pounds sterling.
Labor has refused to keep that promise if it wins power at the general election later this year.
However, under current NATO rules, Great Britain in 2022 and 2023. can include 2.3 billion the pounds it spent on aid to Ukraine to its own defense contributions, as well as money to intelligence services.
On Thursday, UK government sources expressed cautious support for a reassessment of NATO’s spending target, but suggested raising it to 2.5%.
“There is a debate about the 2% target and whether it is appropriate, but the UK has made it clear that 2.5% is the target we want other countries to reach,” said one person briefed on the matter.
Defense expenditures of NATO countries Photo: “The Telegraph”
“Ukraine is very important to the defense of both the United Kingdom and its allies. That’s why we include it in our defense spending.”
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday that all NATO countries should strive to meet the UK’s new 2.5% funding level to meet the demands of a “more dangerous world”.
Some NATO leaders have expressed concern over Trump’s possible return to the White House, warning that by cutting off US military support he would endanger the alliance and sabotage the Ukrainian war effort.
The presumptive Republican nominee has said he would end the war “in one day” and that he would encourage Russia to “do whatever it wants” to allies that do not spend enough on their defense.
“Trump will stop the killing”
A source close to Mr. Trump said he has drawn up a detailed plan to end the war peacefully, but it will not be revealed until after the election.
“The plan is there, but he’s not going to discuss it with the cable news networks because then he’d lose all leverage,” the source said.
Instead, they said, he will focus on a simple message that he will end the war in an attempt to convince peace-loving US voters.
“He wants to stop the killing,” the source said. “It’s a bumper sticker: Trump will stop the killing.”
In an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, Trump said his message to NATO allies is: “If you’re not going to pay, then stay alone.”
D. Trump stated that Europe “used us both for NATO and for Ukraine”.
“If Europe is not going to pay, why should we?” he said. “They suffered much more. Between us [ir Rusijos] is the ocean. They don’t have that.”
He added: “I will try to help Ukraine, but Europe also has to do its job,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying.
