Washington.- U.S. President Donald Trump stated this Wednesday that Spain “fully redeemed itself” after the Iberian country’s government agreed to a “significant payment request” to NATO, a gesture the Republican praised after having strongly criticized the European nation during the Atlantic Alliance summit in Ankara (Turkey).
Trump made those statements aboard Air Force One, during the return flight to Washington from Ankara, when referring to Spain’s decision to agree to an “important” payment request within the framework of NATO, without offering further details about the agreement.
“I must say that I had problems with Spain, and I still do, but today Spain redeemed itself completely. Spain was very generous today… they agreed to an important payment request, and if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t have even spoken to them,” the president stated.
Trump’s criticisms of Spain
Previously, the American head of state had insisted that Spain “behaved very badly” for not having supported him in his offensive against Iran, but highlighted the “tremendous unity” that existed during the NATO leaders’ summit.
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Trump did not specify which “important payment request” he was referring to. Prior to those statements, the disagreement between Washington and Madrid revolved around the Spanish commitment to the goal of allocating 5% of GDP to defense, a target that Pedro Sánchez’s government considers unnecessary to meet NATO’s military requirements.
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The Republican leader spoke in this way at a press conference when asked about his criticisms of Spain and other allies such as Italy or the United Kingdom for not having supported the US attacks against Tehran, and about whether he would support those countries in the event of an attack, as established by the Alliance’s collective defense clause.
Military investment in NATO
If last year’s summit in The Hague was about the commitment to invest 5% of GDP in military spending over ten years, the one in Ankara was meant to be about compliance, according to Mark Rutte, the Organization’s Secretary General, in which the allies would show a credible path to achieve that goal.
“We are rebalancing our security for the better, and that is what NATO 3.0 is all about,” in the words of Rutte, who said he understood the “irritation” of the U.S. regarding the lower military investment of European allies and Canada, which is now, however, shifting.
