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Tillerson Urges NATO Allies To Make Spending Boost Plans

RFE/RL March 31, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged NATO allies to boost defense spending or come up with plans to reach the alliance's budget targets.

Washington is spending a "disproportionate share" on defense compared with its partners, Tillerson told a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on March 31.

NATO members pledged in 2014 to move toward a guideline of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense within a decade, but only the United States and four other NATO members -- Estonia, Greece, Poland, and Britain -- currently meet the target.

"Our goal should be to agree at the May leaders' meeting that by the end of the year all allies will have either met the pledge guidelines or will have developed plans that clearly articulate how...the pledge will be fulfilled," Tillerson said.

After the meeting, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel seemed to reject Tillerson's demand to meet the target.

"Two percent would mean military expenses of some 70 billion euros," Gabriel said. "I don't know any German politician who would claim that is reachable or desirable."

The Brussels meeting is the first NATO meeting to be attended by Tillerson.

The meeting was initially scheduled for next week and Tillerson had planned to skip it, citing other commitments, but it was subsequently rescheduled.

The gathering is preparation for a May 25 NATO summit, which U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will attend.

Trump has since his presidential campaign pushed to get U.S. allies to increase their defense spending to help ease the burden on the United States.

His criticism of NATO -- which he called "obsolete" during the presidential election campaign -- and his stated desire for closer relations to Russia have raised questions among allies about his commitment to the alliance.

But Tillerson told his colleagues that the United States will ensure the alliance has the capability to defend itself.

"We understand that a threat against one of us is a threat against all of us, and we will respond accordingly," he said. "We will uphold the agreements we have made to defend our allies."

Ukraine Conflict

Some leaders have also been concerned about Trump's commitment to end Russian interference in Ukraine.

But Tillerson told journalists ahead of the Brussels meeting he would raise the matter of "NATO's posture in Europe, most particularly in Eastern Europe in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere."

Tillerson added that "the United States sanctions will remain in place until Moscow reverses the actions that triggered our sanctions."

"We do not and will not accept Russian efforts to change the borders of the territory of Ukraine," he added.

Western states have imposed sanctions against Moscow for its illegal 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and for Russia's support of separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has said it will not even discuss the status of Crimea and has denied that it is providing military support to the militants in eastern Ukraine, despite compelling evidence to the contrary.

Speaking to journalists before the Brussels talks, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described ties between European members and the United States as "rock solid" and said the alliance had "a united position on Russia: strong defense and deterrence combined with dialogue."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin joined his NATO counterparts in the afternoon for a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, which Stoltenberg described as "a strong sign of our continued commitment" to the country.

After a session of the Russia-NATO Council on March 30, Stoltenberg told journalists that the two sides "continue to have clear disagreement" on the crisis in Ukraine.

He said the alliance urged Moscow to use its influence with militants in eastern Ukraine to compel them to meet their obligations under the so-called Minsk process.

He added that NATO was firm in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"The allies do not and will not recognize Russia's illegal annexation of [the Ukrainian region of] Crimea," Stoltenberg said.

Russia's ambassador to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, in turn criticized NATO for "continuing to provide political and practical support to Kyiv," a policy that he said is "at odds with genuine interests of conflict settlement."

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/nato-tillerson- spending-plans/28402111.html

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Tillerson Urges NATO Allies To Make Spending Boost Plans