The first day of the annual NATO summit kicked off the way many feared it would, with President Trump hurling accusations and insults, and allies responding that progress was being made to strengthen and modernize the alliance.
“Germany is totally controlled by Russia,” Trump said on arriving at NATO headquarters Wednesday morning, “They will be getting between 60 and 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that is appropriate, because I think it’s not,” he added, launching a new line of attack against one of Washington’s closest allies.
Trump made his comments at the start of the two-day summit, referencing an $11 billion gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that has won the support of Merkel. (The president ignored the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, which opened July 2 and brings natural gas from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and on to southern Italy, bypassing Russia,)
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told CNBC just minutes after Trump’s remarks that, “I think we can cope with it.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders confirmed that Trump would meet privately with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in the afternoon, where she expected him to reiterate to Merkel what he said earlier in the day.
The contentious start of the meeting was expected and planned for by allies, who sent a message of unity despite differences within the family.
Answering a question of when Germany will reach the 2 percent of GDP in defense spending that is the alliance’s goal, von der Leyen said in a Q&A session, “tell me what GDP will be in 2024 and I’ll tell you.”
The minister conceded that Trump has a point on the issue of European defense spending, but simply looking at the balance sheet is the wrong way to approach the issue. Countries can spend 2 percent without doing anything for NATO, she said, pointing out that Germany is the second largest troop contributor to the alliance.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a similar tack, pointing out Canadian contributions while taking a swipe at anyone who focuses so intently on the bottom line.
“You can try and be a bean counter,” Trudeau said, “but the fundamental question is: is what you are doing actually making a difference?” he said.
Trudeau announced that Canada would lead the new NATO mission in Iraq focused on training Iraqi troops, and will deploy 250 soldiers along with four Griffon helicopters to the effort.
He used the mission as a way to show how allies contribute to the security of the entire alliance in many ways not accounted for under the two percent pledge.
“A lot of people talk about the 2 percent,” he said, “but announcing inputs isn’t nearly as important as demonstrating outputs,” he added.
Trudeau said Canada is ramping up military funding by 70 percent over the next decade. “But we don’t just talk about the costs, we talk about the capability and we talk about the contributions,” he said. “It also comes to commitments: an ability and a consistency in being there and stepping up regularly in tangible ways.”
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