Trump was furious, and criticised the Canadian leader for not meeting NATO members' target of spending two percent of GDP on defence. The run-up to the summit had been marked by Macron branding the alliance "brain dead" and demanding a new strategy, reopening a dialogue with Russia and refocusing on the fight against Islamist terrorism. "I think that's very insulting," Trump said of Macron's assertion last month that NATO is experiencing "brain death". Trump has defended Stoltenberg's record of pushing allies for increased defence spending, but he reiterated his own long-standing complaints. Only nine of NATO's 29 members have reached the target agreed at its 2014 summit to spend two percent of their GDP on defence before 2024.

Source: Standard Digital December 05, 2019 06:22 UTC