Nato Rutte claims that Trump will be committed to the alliance as long as Europe pays more

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The commitment of Donald Trump to Nato shouldn’t worry allies, as long as they dramatically increase their defence expenditures, said the alliance’s Secretary-General at the start of a summit intended to placate the US President.

Spain, a country that has a long history of allegiance to the United States, is opting out of Trump’s new goal of spending 5% of the GDP on defense over the next ten years. This increases the chances of misunderstandings at Wednesday’s Nato Leaders’ Meeting in The Hague.

Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, said on Tuesday that allies could be assured that Trump will not withdraw US security guarantees that have supported the continent for decades.

“There is total commitment by the US President . . . Rutte, speaking ahead of the event, said that “the US President has a total commitment to Nato.” “However it comes with an expectation that we will deal with this . . . We are spending too little.

“My message to my European colleagues is: Stop worrying so much . . . Stop being so worried about the US. “They are with us,” added he.

Rutte, in response to Trump’s demand, has drafted a plan that calls for allies, by 2035 to allocate 3,5 per cent of GDP to their core military expenditures and 1,5 per cent to areas like cyber and infrastructure. This will fill the gaps in European capability.

Spain, on the other hand, refused to commit to a 5 per cent overall target. It secured an opt out by promising to achieve the Nato capability goal at a lower price.

The summit could end in bitterness if other capitals request the same “flexibility”, as Rutte did for Madrid. This will increase the risk of acrimony, and Trump may be enraged by what he perceives to be European allies squandering American generosity.

Trump said Spain is “notorious” because it does not spend enough and that Nato will have to “deal with” this country. “Spain has been a very low payer . . . Spain has to be responsible for what everyone else is.

Rutte claimed that the increased spending wasn’t just to appease Trump, but was also to make sure Europe could face a revanchist Russia.

Rutte stated that Moscow could “try something” against an Nato member within “three, five or seven years”.

“We know that Russia is reconstituting itself at a speed that is really . . . ”It’s frightening,” he said.

“We need the 5 per cent spending . . . Rutte concluded, “I’m hopeful that we will reach our goal.” Spend more money if you want to avoid war.