American presidents have long pressed their NATO counterparts to increase military spending. But Mr. Trump’s insistence that the other nations owe money misstates how the alliance works, and the figures he cites are misleading.
(Our reporters fact-checked the president’s claims on the financial relationship between the United States and other NATO countries.)
NATO has a budget to cover shared costs and some equipment used in joint operations, and all 29 member countries contribute to it. None of the allies has failed to pay its contribution.
Mr. Trump’s complaint is that, while NATO member countries have agreed to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic products on military spending, most do not. But none has violated that agreement, because the 2 percent figure is a target to be reached by 2024.
According to NATO, all members have significantly raised military spending since 2014, and eight are expected to meet the goal this year.
Mr. Trump tweeted on Monday that the United States accounted for 90 percent of military spending by NATO countries, but the alliance says the real figure is about 67 percent. And most American military spending is not NATO-related.
Even so, the organization says on its website, “There is an overreliance by the alliance as a whole on the United States for the provision of essential capabilities, including, for instance, in regard to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; air-to-air refueling; ballistic missile defense; and airborne electronic warfare.”
— Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Steven Erlanger
A Twitter-free zone? Trump finds a way
If Mr. Trump was in a prickly mood as he entered the NATO meeting, his aides and wary allies found one source of comfort: no Twitter.
Cellphones are banned from the room where the 29 leaders are gathered, and NATO jams signals in the building to prevent eavesdropping and hacking. So people did not expect Mr. Trump to have access to his favorite medium for at least for a few hours.
Somehow, the president found a way to tweet.
As the opening meeting proceeded into a classified session on Wednesday, Mr. Trump sent out messages about the trade war he had escalated by imposing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. He said he had acted on behalf of American agriculture.
I am in Brussels, but always thinking about our farmers. Soy beans fell 50% from 2012 to my election. Farmers have done poorly for 15 years. Other countries’ trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying their businesses. I will open…
—
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
July 11, 2018
He continued on Twitter that he would open things “better than ever before, but it can’t go too quickly. I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers, and will win!”
It was not clear whether Mr. Trump violated the NATO meeting’s no-phone rule, or whether the tweet was sent by an aide outside the room. But one thing was certain: There is no keeping @realdonaldtrump from his followers. — Julie Hirschfeld Davis
A show of solidarity with Ukraine
NATO leaders are set to meet with their Ukrainian counterparts on Thursday to show solidarity with Kiev, after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, and in the face of Moscow’s continuing military support of rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The meeting is a pointed reminder from the West of the principle that one nation should not violate the territorial integrity of another. Talks on resolving the dispute in Ukraine have essentially stalled.
NATO leaders are also to meet with the leaders of Georgia on Thursday, in a similar show of support for Tbilisi against Russia, which has occupied parts of the country since 2008.
Ukraine and Georgia will be invited to discuss their progress in security and defense overhauls and their cooperation with NATO, but long-delayed plans to have them join the alliance remain suspended. — Steven Erlanger
After NATO: Queen Elizabeth and Theresa May
Source : Nytimes
