Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump is correct to criticise NATO member states for not spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence and he is right to single out Germany on this issue, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“The president is right to point out that our NATO allies need to adhere to their commitments, which is 2 per cent of GDP for defense.
“Germany is the largest economy in European Union. Germany should be committing 2 per cent like they agreed to,’’ Ryan told newsmen.
Trump wrote a series of messages on Twitter earlier criticising NATO member states for not adhering to their obligations to spend 2 per cent of their GDP on defence.
He had previously sent a letter to the government of Norway, media reported the letter was sent to other governments as well, saying the U.S expects Norway to adhere to its obligations on defence spending.
Earlier, Trump singled out Germany during the NATO summit in Brussels for working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia and for buying Russian oil and gas.
The U.S. president said heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas supplies was “inappropriate,” and urged NATO to discuss the “billions and billions of dollars” paid to Moscow.
Moreover, Trump also called Germany “a captive” of Russia.
Ryan said he had brought up the issue of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the past and is still very concerned about it.
However, the speaker emphasised that amid all the criticism NATO remains “indispensable” and remains as important the U.S. as it has ever been.
Ryan also said the U.S. president should not be criticised when he is overseas regarding the numerous critics in the U.S. about Trump’s policies expressed at the NATO summit in Brussels.
(Sputnik/NAN)