On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, the alliance’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte said European members and Canada are on track to bring their defense spending into line with that of the United States, which has long criticized Europe's lack of military spending and perceived "free riding."Speaking in the Turkish capital just ahead of the two-day NATO gathering on July 7-8, Rutte also said the alliance “must continue to ensure Ukraine gets what it needs” after another devastating Russian attack in and around Kyiv on July 6, which killed at least 21 people.
The Ankara summit is meant to take stock of how the 32 allies are doing in terms of meeting the target, set in the Hague last year, of spending 5 percent of GDP on defense by 2035.With some countries barely reaching the previous goal of 2 percent this year, the United States has pushed European countries to show credible plans on how they can reach the goal within a decade.'One-Sided Path'Just last week, US President Donald Trump, who has long been skeptical of the alliance, questioned NATO again in a social media post, writing that it is “ridiculous for the USA to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal.”He also included a graph showing that Washington spends a lot more on its military than any single European ally.
