THE HAGUE: President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday and suggested that increased spending by the trans-Atlantic alliance could help prevent future Russian aggression against its neighbors.
NATO members agreed to raise their spending targets by 2035 to 5 percent of gross domestic product annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending. That target had been 2 percent of GDP.
“Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said at the summit-ending news conference shortly after seeing Zelensky. “And hopefully we’re going to get that solved.”
Trump also reiterated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine that began with Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” Trump said. “He called the other day, and he said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said, ‘No, you can help me with Russia.’”
