BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States’ commitment to NATO “remains very strong” after a summit in Brussels at which he said allies had made unprecedented commitments to increase spending on their own defense.
“NATO is much stronger now than it was two days ago,” Trump told reporters, describing an unscheduled crisis meeting of the 29 alliance leaders on Thursday morning as “fantastic” and having “a great collegial spirit.”
“The US were not treated fairly but now we are. I believe in NATO,” Trump told a press conference after the fraught NATO summit in Brussels.
Later alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference that Trump’s actions had made NATO stronger.
Asked about a closed-door meeting in which officials said Trump told allies to reach a NATO target or the United States would "go it alone", Stoltenberg said: "We had a very frank and open discussion... That discussion has made NATO stronger. It has created a new sense of urgency," he said.
"The fact that we had this open discussion has also clearly stated that we will redouble our efforts and it also shows that a clear message from President Trump is having an impact."
