NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Feb. 14 that he expected 18 of the 31 NATO members to meet the goal of spending at least 2% of their GDP on defense in 2024, an increase of seven countries from the previous year.
NATO allies reached an agreement following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 to halt the reduction in defense spending implemented after the Cold War, and aim to allocate at least 2% of their respective GDPs to defense by 2024.
The need to increase defense spending was reignited after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In a first since the end of the Cold War, Germany is expected to reach the 2% goal, a spokesperson for Germany's Defense Ministry said on Feb. 14.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Stoltenberg said that European countries in NATO would invest a combined total of $380 billion in defense spending in 2024.
Stoltenberg's comments came days after former U.S. President Donald Trump said he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO member countries failing to meet the defense spending goal if he were again elected president.
Trump's suggestion was widely condemned on both sides of the Atlantic.
"We should not leave (any) room of miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness, our commitment and our resolve to protect all allies," Stoltenberg said at the press conference on Feb. 12.
"The reason to do so is not to provoke a conflict but to prevent a conflict as NATO has done successfully for the 65 years," he added.
Olena Goncharova
