Rubio calls Nato gathering the 'Trump Summit', credits US President for defence spending push

Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to this year’s Nato meeting as “the Trump summit”,  highlighting the alliance’s efforts to meet President Donald Trump’s demand for increased defence spending.

“I would call this the Trump summit,” Rubio told Politico in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the summit, saying that Trump’s pressure to boost spending in his first term has reinvigorated the group – for the most part.

“The combination of pressure from President Trump in his first administration, and then a full invasion and war in Europe by Vladimir Putin has led now to virtually every country in – every single partner in the Nato alliance, pledging to get to that 5 per cent mark, with the exception, unfortunately, of Spain.”

Spain faced criticism at this year’s summit after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez obtained a last-minute exemption from the defense spending target.

“It’s a big problem,” Rubio said, adding, “I don’t think that the agreement that Spain has reached is sustainable, and frankly it puts them in a very tough spot with regards to their other allies and partners."

Rubio added that the issue will be discussed when leaders meet on Wednesday, noting that Spain’s position has given other nations an excuse to try to back out of the commitment.

At the same time, he said Trump’s influence will ultimately strengthen the alliance.

“If everybody lives up to their commitment, it’s going to be a much stronger alliance with more capable partners,” he was quoted as saying.

“(It will) frankly allow the United States to still be a vibrant, strong member of it, the biggest member of it, but also reallocate resources to other parts of the world without taking away from the strength of the alliance,” Rubio added.

With inputs from agencies