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Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has praised Donald Trump for making Europe “pay in a BIG way” on increased defence spending, in a private message that the US president shared on his social media platform.
“Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world,” Rutte wrote ahead of a Nato summit that begins on Tuesday, referencing the US president’s demand that all allies commit to raising defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
“You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done,” he added, according to screenshots of his text message posted by Trump to Truth Social on Tuesday.
“It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 per cent!” Rutte wrote. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
Rutte also praised Trump’s “decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do”.
A Nato official confirmed the message’s authenticity.
The screenshots appeared on Truth Social as the US president flew to The Hague for a Nato summit that begins on Tuesday evening.
Trump had asked all members of the alliance to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence over the next decade or risk losing the US security guarantees that have underpinned the continent’s security for decades.
While many European allies including Germany, France and the UK have committed to meet Trump’s new target, Spain has secured an opt-out, increasing the likelihood of a clash at the meeting.
On Tuesday, Rutte sought to reassure allies that as long as they drastically increase their defence spending, Trump would not withdraw US guarantees.
“There is total commitment by the US President . . . to Nato,” Rutte said ahead of the event. “However it comes with an expectation that we will deal with this . . . huge irritant that we are not spending enough.
“My message to my European colleagues is: stop worrying so much . . . Stop running around being worried about the US. They are with us,” he added.
To meet Trump’s demands, Rutte has drawn up a plan for allies to allocate 3.5 per cent of their GDP to core military spending and 1.5 per cent on areas such as cyber and infrastructure by 2035, to fill gaps in European capabilities.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that a massive defence spending plan presented to his cabinet on Tuesday showed that Europe’s largest nation was a “strong and reliable” partner.
“We’ve showed our allies we can be relied upon,” he told German MPs before departing for The Hague. “Germany is back on the international stage.”
Germany plans to boost military spending by more than two-thirds over the next four years, reaching 3.5 per cent of GDP in core military spending in 2029, faster than France and the UK.
But Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has refused to commit to the overall 5 per cent target and secured an opt-out by pledging to meet the Nato capabilities goal at what it estimates will be a lower cost.
Other capitals have also requested the same “flexibility” that Rutte has granted Madrid, increasing the risk for the summit to end in acrimony and triggering Trump’s ire over what he sees as European allies freeloading on American largesse.
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