Advertisement
German chancellor Angela Merkel sits next to US president Donald Trump before their meeting in the oval office in Washington on Friday. DPA/PA Images
diplomatic tensions

Germany hits back at Trump claim that it 'owes vast sums of money'

“There is no account where debts are registered with NATO,” the German Defence Minister said.

GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER Ursula von der Leyen has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Berlin owes NATO “vast sums of money” and must pay Washington more for defence.

“There is no account where debts are registered with NATO,” Von der Leyen, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in a statement.

She also noted that NATO spending should not be the only criteria used to measure Germany’s military efforts.

On Saturday Trump had tweeted that “Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”

His tweetstorm came a day after Trump met Merkel in Washington, where the two leaders showed little common ground over a host of thorny issues, including NATO and defence spending.

Merkel said Berlin had committed to increasing its military spending to 2% of GDP, a target NATO member states formally agreed in 2014 to reach within 10 years.

Germany, whose wartime past has led it traditionally to be reticent on defence matters, currently spends 1.2% of GDP.

Von der Leyen said on Sunday that Germany’s increased military spending would not only go to NATO but would also be used for participating in UN and European peacekeeping missions and to contribute to the fight against the Islamic State extremists.

Read: Donald Trump’s first wife is writing a new memoir

Read: Donald Trump takes Twitter aim at Germany and claims it owes ‘vast sums of money’

Your Voice
Readers Comments
41
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.