Washington DC, January 21: US President Donald Trump while attending the signing ceremony at Oval Office on Monday (local time), said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict would not have happened if he were the President.
Key Points
1.
Trump demands NATO countries increase defense spending to 5% of GDP
2.
Criticizes current NATO member contributions to Ukraine conflict
3.
Suggests US spends more on Ukraine than other NATO members
Talking about the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, Trump said that he would try and resolve it as quickly as possible.
"We are going to try and get it done as quickly as possible. The war between Ukraine and Russia would have never started if I were the President," he said.
Trump also said that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO countries must pay 5 per cent of their GDP for its defence budget.
"NATO has to pay 5 per cent. We are in the Ukraine war by USD 200 billion more than NATO. It's ridiculous because it affects them a lot more. We have an ocean in between. And we've spent USD 200 billion more on Ukraine than NATO has spent. And they've got to equalise," he said.
Trump added that Spain's spending was very low.
"Spain is very low," he said.
He added that it was ridiculous because the war affects others more than the US.
"It's ridiculous because it affects them a lot more. We have an ocean in between. They need us. Much more than we need them. We don't need them. Everybody needs us," he said.
Trump faced severe backlash from several German politicians over his recent suggestion that NATO's European members increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, more than double the current target, Euronews reported.
A member of Germany's Social Democrat Party (SPD), Ralf Stegner, called Trump's remarks "delusional and absolutely insane" and stressed that the world does not need more weapons, as reported by Euronews.
Marcus Faber, head of Germany's defence committee, agreed that 5 per cent was excessive, proposing that NATO countries agree on a new target of 3 per cent decided by consensus.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman, of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), also criticised Trump for inventing a figure without any basis.
