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Donald Trump's team has told European officials that the next US president will demand NATO member states increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, but plans to continue providing military aid to Ukraine.
The US President-elect's closest foreign policy aides revealed his intentions during discussions with senior European officials this month, according to people familiar with the talks, as he strengthens his European and European policies. Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During his election campaign for the White House. Trump He pledged to cut aid to Ukraine, force Kiev into immediate peace talks, and leave NATO allies defenseless if they fail to spend enough on defence, raising concerns in European capitals.
But in a boost to allies who are deeply concerned about their ability to support and protect Ukraine without Washington's support, Trump now intends to maintain US military supplies to Kiev after his inauguration, according to three other people familiar with discussions with Western officials.
Meanwhile, Trump will demand that NATO more than double its 2 percent spending target — which only 23 of the alliance's 32 members are meeting — to 5 percent, two people familiar with the talks said.
One person said they understood Trump would be satisfied with 3.5%, and that he was planning to explicitly link increased defense spending to an offer of more favorable trade terms with the United States. Another European official familiar with Trump's thinking said: “Clearly we are talking about 3 percent or more for (June's NATO summit) in The Hague.”
NATO allies are already in discussions about this Increase target to 3 per cent at a leaders' meeting in June, but many capitals are concerned about the difficult financial decisions that would be required to do so.
According to the White House Office of Management and BudgetThe United States will spend about 3.1% of GDP on defense in 2024. During the last year of Trump’s first presidency in 2020, Pentagon spending reached 3.4%.
Key European NATO allies – including France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Poland – met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels on Wednesday evening to discuss how the continent should deal with the matter. Adapting defense policies In response to Trump's return.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a separate phone call with Trump on Thursday during the European Union leaders' summit. Schulz later told reporters that he was “quite confident that the United States and Europe will continue their support for Ukraine.” Senior British security officials traveled to Washington earlier this month to assess the president-elect's plans.
They added that while Trump still believes Ukraine should never be granted NATO membership, and wants an immediate end to the conflict, the president-elect believes supplying weapons to Kiev after a ceasefire will ensure a “peace through strength” outcome.
After 24-hour meetings with NATO and European Union leaders in Brussels this week, Zelensky said on Thursday that European pledges to defend Ukraine would amount to… “It's not enough” Without US intervention.
Additional reporting by George Parker in London
