The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mark Rutte, announced on Monday (23) that all member countries agreed to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP amid growing tensions worldwide. The Military Alliance holds a summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, this week.
Speaking to the press, Rutte stated that “the investment plan that allies will approve in The Hague establishes a new base: 5% of GDP to be invested in defense. This represents a huge, historical and fundamental jump to ensure our future.”
The secretary general emphasized that the measure is necessary in the face of what we “see daily with Russia’s deadly terror from heaven over Ukraine – and we must be able to defend ourselves against this kind of attack.”
The expansion of military spending to 5% of GDP was the main demand of US President Donald Trump to NATO.
According to the agency ReutersThe new NATO defense spending plan provides for countries to spend 3.5% of GDP on “basic defense” – essentially with weapons and troops – plus 1.5% on safety -related investments such as roads, ports and bridges for use of military vehicles, oleoduct protection and deterth cyber attacks.
Putin speaks of NATO’s “provocation” to promote a arms race
Russia dictator Vladimir Putin took the same day as the NATO announcement to inform the reinforcement of the Russian nuclear triad (strategic aviation, nuclear submarines and intercontinental missiles) with modernized T-160m bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles RS-24 Yars.
“We know that at NATO’s summit it plans to announce the beginning of a large -scale program to continue increasing the potential of the alliance. For this, the military budgets of their member countries will increase,” he said to a group of school graduates and military academies at an event broadcast live on Russian television.
According to the Russian dictator, the measure announced on Monday by NATO Secretary-General “makes it clear who is really causing militarization and a global arms race.”
Putin also announced at the military event that the Moscow army will create a new drone force due to the growing importance of unmanned air vehicles in current conflicts.
The dictator also commented again on the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East with the involvement of “non -regional powers” in the conflict – in clear reference to the bombing of the United States in Iran. According to Putin, the situation is putting the world “on the edge of the abyss.”
“Given the growing geopolitical tension, we will continue to take adequate measures to strengthen the safety of Russia and our allies. The development of our Armed Forces is the guarantee of a sovereign and independent Russia,” he concluded.
