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NATO top diplomats to honor 5% commitment

Posted by Europe correspondent on

13.05.2025 Belek, Turkey. Today the NATO top diplomats convened in Antalya to discuss a deal on increase of the defense spending, as members have to meet the new U.S. administration new target, suggested by President Trump, who aims at 5% GDP to be agreed next month during the North Atlantic Alliance Summit in The Hague. (Image above: Mark Rutte, Temple of Athena, Side).

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“This new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO allies to deter and defend, but it also includes things like mobility, infrastructure, necessary infrastructure, cyber security,” U.S. NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker said.

“It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers, but at the same time, it’s got to be defence-related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine.”

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The two-day unformal event at the Turkish resort takes place amid vivid talks in diplomatic cercles about a possible meeting in Istanbul between Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Although not on May 15, but certainly in the perspective.

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However it will be the internal debate over NATO’s spending target that will overwhelm the two days informal event in Belek. The semantics of the morning debate on May 15 among Foreign ministers to coordinate positions before The Hague Summit.

Trump has applied pressure ahead of the Summit by insisting the allies commit to
the 5% of GDP to defense spending, which would become a serious burden to many European economies, used to less than 2%.
This new percentage would mean serious cuts in education, healthcare, and social systems, with the long-term negative effects on the European societies.

The European allies had to consider the reasoning of the U.S. counterparts, expressed the the new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, concerned about the threat deriving from Kremlin’s geopolitical ambitions.

In a bid to prevent a schism in the Alliance, Mark Rutte – NATO Secretary General – has attempted to soften the edge, and start with commitment of to 3.5% of direct military spending by 2032, as well as another 1.5% of broader security-related expenditure.

The proposal will offer the headline figure to President Trump, the way he demands, while giving some space to the European allies, while some of them are struggling to reach current spending threshold of 2%.

“Five percent (5% )– that’s how much NATO allies need to allocate to effectively deter and defend against any threat. The good news: most member states are investing more in defense today than they did 3-5 years ago. The trend must be maintained” writes the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest on their X-page.

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Diplomats regard Rutte’s proposal, which hasn’t been announced publicly yet, and faces the plant to increase the direct defence spending by 0.2% each year over the next seven years until countries hit the 3.5% target.

The other 1.5% of widely defined spending could include an waste amplitude of areas, including infrastructure, cyberdefence, border controls and future support to Ukraine.

The ideas, and visions of the future of the Alliance are expressed by the U.S. new administration, while Canada, Spain and Italy are attempting to meet 2% target. Subsequently a number of governments are proposing to make a broader frame for spending to make the meeting of target possible.
However two major European economies – Germany, and France – have accepted the trend, which will make to the others increasingly difficult to object.

However there is a clear intention to prepare in advance an agreement among the allies on May 15 in Belek to avoid any divergences, and objections during The Hague Summit.
The informal meeting is set to discuss the invitation to The Hague Summit to President Zelensky, while there is a word among diplomats, that in view of peace talks between Ukraine, and Russia this format should be abandoned.

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The NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte press-conference will take place tomorrow, on May 15 concluding the meeting of the Alliance top diplomats. While the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will continue his diplomatic efforts, heading to Istanbul to assist the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

Anna van Densky from Belek

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