NATO chief calls on military alliance's members to step up defense spending

By Senhan Bolelli and Aysu Bicer

MADRID/LONDON (AA) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the military alliance’s member countries Thursday to step up their defense spending and indicated his expectation for an agreement to be reached on the matter at their summit in Lithuania.

During a press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Lisbon, Stoltenberg praised Portugal’s support to Ukraine, including the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks and its contribution via NATO’s comprehensive assistance package.

"We must take bold decisions and demonstrate our commitment to the transatlantic bond," he said.

He said he is expecting that member countries' leaders will reach an agreement on committing a minimum of 2% of their nations’ gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending at the NATO summit to be held in Lithuania on July 11-12.

Referring to NATO's 2021 report, he said that out of the alliance’s 30 member countries (31 including Finland), only seven had met the target of allocating 2% of GDP to defense spending before the Russia-Ukraine war.

"NATO will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said, stressing that "Ukrainian forces have the capabilities they need to retake occupied land."

He also expressed satisfaction with the recent declarations made by allies on the provision of cruise missiles and the training of Ukrainian pilots in operating Western fighter jets.

Offering a glimpse into the upcoming summit in Vilnius, he said it "will send a strong signal of support for Ukraine."

He highlighted that the summit would be a chance to address "the continued threat of terrorism and instability in the South," including "Russia’s destabilizing actions in Africa, and now Russia and China are making inroads in the region."

He stressed that "we must do more to build defense capacity with key partners in the South, such as Tunisia, Mauritania and Jordan."

Prime Minister Costa said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had suffered his first defeat by reviving the alliance and emphasized that all member countries will continue to act with the same determination until a fair and lasting peace is achieved in Ukraine.