Trump assures that Spain “has completely redeemed itself” after agreeing to a NATO payment request
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, now assures that Spain “has completely redeemed itself” after having agreed to a request for “numerous payments” to NATO, something that he has valued after having attacked the Spanish Executive calling it a “lost cause” and a “terrible ally” of the Alliance.
“I have had problems with Spain and I continue to have them, but today it has been completely redeemed,” said the tenant of the White House in statements to the media after his visit to Ankara, the capital of Turkey, to participate in the second day of the Atlantic Alliance summit.
Next, Trump explained that “Spain has shown itself very generous today” by “attending a request for numerous payments” which, he noted, if it had not been done, “he would not even have” spoken to them.
«They behaved very badly, in my opinion. But today there was great unity in that room, the NATO room. The truth is that it has been quite impressive. There has been something very positive about it,” he highlighted.
These latest statements by the American president contrast with those made hours earlier in a joint press conference with the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, when he threatened to “completely” stop bilateral trade with Spain, a country that he then called a “terrible partner of NATO” for refusing to raise defense spending to 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
«Spain is a lost cause. By the way, we no longer want to do any commercial business with Spain. I want it cut. Spain is a terrible ally in NATO. They do not participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want to know anything about Spain. “Cut all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” Trump stressed then.
Despite such words, at the end of the meeting in Turkey, Trump referred to the NATO summit as “successful” and full of “unification” of the allies, while recalling that last year it was possible to raise the defense spending objective from 2% to 5% of GDP, a figure that “everyone said was impossible”, and he trusted that the countries that have not yet committed to that objective – among which is Spain – will end up doing so “quite soon”. after today they have been “very positive” about it.
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