NATO Summit in Turkey/ Donald Trump calls on Alliance member states to fulfill their commitment to increase military spending

U.S. President Donald Trump will take part this week in the NATO summit in Ankara, where he is expected to press allied countries to fulfill their commitment to increase defense spending.

According to the U.S. administration, Trump expects all members of the alliance to immediately begin moving toward the goal of investing 5% of Gross Domestic Product in defense over the next decade.

“President Trump fully expects all allies to act immediately and urgently to reach the 5% target,” said U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker ahead of the summit.

The White House considers the willingness of most member countries to increase military spending as evidence of the influence Trump has had on the alliance, even though he has continued to have disagreements with some partners on various issues, including the war between Israel and Iran, statements about Greenland, and personal clashes with other leaders.

Trump will depart for Ankara on Monday evening and, in recent days, has repeated his criticism that the United States spends far more on defense than its allies.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has sought to highlight the progress made by member countries.