On November 11, British Defense Minister John Healey expressed his belief that U.S. President-elect Trump would be committed to NATO. He also stated his support for Trump’s efforts to urge other European countries to increase their financial contributions to NATO.
Healey anticipated that Trump’s administration would continue to support Ukraine until they achieve victory over Russia in their conflict. In an interview with Sky News, Healey said, “President Trump understands that national security is achieved through strength, just like alliances such as NATO. I expect the U.S. to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with allies like the UK to support Ukraine until they have defeated Putin’s invasion.”
He dismissed claims that Trump would withdraw the U.S. commitment to NATO, saying, “I don’t believe the U.S. will distance itself from NATO. They understand the importance of this alliance and the importance of avoiding further conflict in Europe.”
Trump has criticized NATO multiple times, complaining about the disproportionate budget contributions from the U.S. within the alliance and accusing European countries of inadequate defense spending. During his election campaign, he stated that the U.S. would only help defend against future Russian attacks if NATO member countries fulfilled their spending obligations.
NATO member countries pledged to increase defense spending to at least 2% of GDP by 2024. It is expected that by the end of the year, 23 out of 32 countries will have achieved this target.
Poland, which shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, ranks as the highest spender with defense expenditure at 4.1% of GDP. Estonia follows at 3.43%, and the U.S. ranks third at 3.38%.
The UK ranks ninth, with defense expenditure reaching 2.3% of GDP under the previous Conservative government’s leadership.
Healey mentioned that the Labour government has pledged to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP but has not provided a timeline to achieve this goal. He stated that the Labour party plans to fulfill their commitment by increasing defense spending by £30 billion next year.
The day before, UK Treasury Minister Darren Jones refused to disclose when the UK would allocate 2.5% of GDP to defense. He declined to comment on whether the government would achieve this goal before the current parliamentary term ends in 2029 and warned that increased defense spending could lead to reductions in public sector expenditure.
(Reference: British Press Association)