President Donald Trump said NATO allies had committed to raising their defense spending beyond 2 percent on Thursday morning, following a flurry of public diatribes against key members of the 29-nation bloc.
He launched another blistering attack over NATO leaders’ failure to increase defense spending Thursday morning, prompting members to hold an unplanned emergency session.
Breaking from a carefully-scripted meeting widely expected to focus largely on Ukraine and Georgia, the U.S. president reportedly reaffirmed his position that the 29-nation bloc should reach their 2 percent spending target as a matter of urgency.
“We had a very intense summit,” German Chancellor told reporters after the meeting.
On the first day of talks in the Belgian capital, the U.S. president publicly accused Germany — the second biggest state in the Western defense alliance — of being “totally controlled” by Russia. He suggested a string of energy oil and gas deals had given Moscow far too much influence over the continent’s largest economy.
Both Germany and Russia have since dismissed Trump’s accusation.
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