NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on members of the alliance to either increase their defense spending targets or start taking “Russian language courses.”
Rutte has previously said Trump was right to push NATO to increase spending, saying at a November summit in Budapest that “you will not get there with the 2 percent.”
Rutte addressed the European Parliament on Monday for the first time since taking office. During his speech, the NATO chief outlined his goals, which included bringing NATO and the European Union “closer together” to thwart Russia’s “destabilization campaign.”
He also called on NATO to raise the current benchmark defense spending limit of 2 percent of each country’s GDP.
“Everything I’m seeing at this moment is not nearly enough, and if we don’t do it [raise spending targets], we are safe now but not in four or five years. So if you don’t do it, get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand,” Rutte said.
He added, “Or decide now to spend more, and that’s exactly the debate we have to finalize over the next three or four months to stay safe in this part of the world.”
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-chief-tells-allies-raise-defense-spending-learn-russian-2014900