NATO Insisted on Rising Military Spending in Europe

The head of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg recalled that NATO decided to increase defense spending in 2014. The reason was "Russia's aggressive behavior, the annexation of Crimea and more brutal forms of terrorism." On the eve of NATO defense ministers’ summit - the first since Joe Biden took office as US president - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on European participating states to fulfill their commitments to increase defense spending. Refusing to increase defense spending following the end of Donald Trump's presidency would be "a wrong signal," Stoltenberg said in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, published on Wednesday 17 February. He stressed that the position of the new US administration will not change on this issue. The head of the alliance recalled that NATO's goal - to achieve a two percent growth for defense spending out of the gross domestic product - was adopted in 2014, "when Joe Biden was vice president." The reason was "Russia's aggressive behavior, the annexation of Crimea and more brutal forms of terrorism." These threats did not disappear, and more and more dangerous cyberattacks were added to them. Despite all the disagreements with Russia, Jens Stoltenberg spoke in favor of continuing the conversation with the Kremlin. "Even if we do not believe in better relations with Moscow, we must be able to manage complex relations," the head of the alliance said. NATO Defense Ministers are holding a two-day videoconference on February 17-18. The new head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, is participating for the first time. Among other things, it is planned to discuss an increase in the alliance's budget, the expansion of the mission in Iraq, as well as a possible termination of the operation in Afghanistan.