NATO Approves Historic Increase in Defense Spending to Confront Russia, China, and Iran

The NATO summit in The Hague today approved a plan for a historic increase in defense spending by alliance countries "to confront the escalating threats from Russia, China, and Iran".

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated, "There is complete clarity that the United States is fully committed to NATO, and fully committed to Article 5."
He added, "There is also an expectation from Canadians and Europeans to accelerate their spending, and this will be realized today, to ensure our ability not only to defend ourselves against the Russians and others, but also to achieve balance, because it is fair to spend the same amount as the United States."

Stoltenberg also called on European and Canadian countries to accelerate their defense spending increase to achieve balance with American spending.

He warned of Chinese military expansion and China's support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

He also announced a new plan to increase defense spending in the coming years to enhance military industrial base and ammunition production.

He expressed understanding of the difficulty of political decisions related to spending increases, especially in the face of resource scarcity, but emphasized that there is no alternative in confronting the Russian threat and the international security situation.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a decision to allocate 3.5% of the gross domestic product for defense spending, in addition to 1.5% for military infrastructure.

He also confirmed that the decisions are made out of the recognition of the need to enhance Europe's defense capabilities within NATO.