Ursula von der Leyen
The Minister of defence of Germany Ursula von der Leyen has denied the statement of President of the United States Donald trump that Berlin “owes huge sums of money, NATO and the United States.” Her words on Sunday, March 19, TASS with reference to the Agency DNA.
“NATO has no delinquent accounts,” said von der Leyen.
In an informal setting, defense expenditures of member countries of the NATO shall not be less than two percent of GDP, but in 2016 have complied with this requirement, only the US and UK. In this respect, Washington believes that NATO members do not fully fulfill the obligations of the financing of the Alliance. Currently, States cover about 70 percent of the cost of operating the organization.
However, as noted by von der Leyen, the defence budget of two percent of GDP includes not only spending on NATO. According to her, the financial contribution to peacekeeping missions, the fight against “Islamic state” (banned in the Russian organization), which is not part of the mandate of the Alliance, and a variety of humanitarian programs is also available on this expenditure.
March 18, trump commented on the talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that the meeting was fine. At the same time the head of state noted that the Berlin allegedly owed to NATO and the United States. According to him, the need to pay for “powerful and very expensive defense that we provide in Germany.” Meeting trump and Merkel took place on Friday, March 17, during the visit of Chancellor in the United States.