HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The NATO deputy secretary general said today the uncertainty of a relationship between President-elect Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin is actually driving NATO closer rather than apart.
Trump during his campaign said he'd hold a hard line against NATO countries not meeting their defense spending requirements of 2 percent of theor GDP and recently spoke with Putin on the phone. Trump's characterization of how he plans to deal with Putin show signs of a warmer relationship than the ice cold one Putin had with President Barack Obama.
On whether Trump's relationship with the Kremlin is materially hurting the alliance, Rose Goettemoeller, who has held her post for just five weeks, said at the Halifax International Security Forum Friday, "I think it's driving the alliance closer together … and really making countries focus on this necessity of further expenditure on defense."
Goettemoeller added, "I can't say we have completely reversed the trend, but this year, for the first time in a long time, we are going to have a 3 percent increase in defense spending across all the countries of the alliance," but she acknowledged, "some countries haven't stepped up to that 2 percent requirement of GDP that is really deep in NATO's policy doctrines."
She also addressed the phone call between NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and Trump Friday, classifying it as "a great conversation" about "the future of the NATO alliance and the future relationship between the US and NATO."
Both agreed "that we have work to do in the alliance," she said, and "the necessity of burden sharing needing to be spread across the alliance but then we also have important missions going forward."
Also at the Halifax forum, UK Defense Minister Michael Fallon agreed NATO members must pay their way, stating, "US dollars must not prop up transatlantic security." He noted that 16 of the 28 countries are now agreeing to raise spending and added the UK is spending 2 percent of its GDP and is meeting NATO's target to spend 20 percent of its defense budget on new capabilities.
"I want allies to do more," he said.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
