Rubio insists US remains committed to NATO

DW (English)

In talks with other leaders of the alliance in Brussels, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on member states to raise their defense spending to at least 5% of national GDP. Speaking in Brussels, he dismissed "hysteria and hyperbole in the global media about NATO."

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00:00U.S. Secretary of State in the midst of growing transatlantic tensions.

00:05What awaited Marco Rubio here in Brussels were U.S. allies nervous about Washington's

00:11role in NATO and rattled about its latest trade move.

00:16Of course, this question has somewhat overlapped with the start here, because economic security

00:25is part of our overall security.

00:29On camera, Rubio did not comment on his boss's tariff announcement.

00:34And his message on NATO was reassuring.

00:37The United States is in NATO.

00:38We are active.

00:39As we speak right now, the United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been.

00:43And some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic

00:47media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted.

00:50The United States President Trump has made clear he supports NATO.

00:54We're going to remain in NATO.

00:55But he also made clear the U.S. commitment to the alliance comes with conditions.

01:01So we do want to leave here with an understanding that we are on a pathway, a realistic pathway,

01:05to every single one of the members committing and fulfilling a promise to reach up to 5

01:10percent of spending.

01:11That includes the United States will have to increase its percentage.

01:13A goal that at least right now seems overambitious, as some NATO countries are struggling to even

01:19reach the initial promise of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.

01:25But NATO Chief Mark Rutte sees the alliance on the right path.

01:29Over the last couple of months, we literally see hundreds of billions of euros slash dollars

01:34rolling in.

01:35Look at what the Germans have announced, Europeans have announced, many other countries have

01:40announced.

01:41So this is probably the biggest increase in defense spending here on the European side

01:46of NATO since the end of the Cold War.

01:49NATO officials are indicating they do not expect the tariffs to overshadow the meeting

01:55in Brussels.

01:56But a real trade war would certainly impact economic growth in Europe.

02:01And tariffs may well stand in the way of Washington's push for increased defense spending.

02:08A point not lost on many Europeans.

02:11It's important to understand that we grow faster and better together.

02:17And if we want to build resources for a stronger defense, we need to have economic growth.

02:22And protectionism will not do us any good.

02:26Over the last few weeks, NATO has been shaken to the core.

02:30It seems rather unlikely that this gathering in Brussels will bring the Allies closer together

02:36again.

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