Polish President to Propose An Increase in NATO Defense Spending
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Polish President Andrzej Duda will propose that NATO member states raise the minimum level of defense spending to 3 percent of economic output in his talks with US President Joe Biden.
Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk are traveling to the United States to meet Biden at the White House on March 12 as Warsaw seeks reinforcement of the defense alliance’s eastern flank in the face of the war in Ukraine, Poland’s neighbor, Bloomberg reported.
Duda, speaking before a meeting with Tusk’s government and party leaders, said he wants to propose raising the spending threshold from 2 percent in talks with all North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, including Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on March 14.
“Nobody will dare to attack (a) strong NATO, strong nations that will be able to defend their borders,” Duda said.
The proposal comes after Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential front runner, said he told a NATO ally during his presidency that he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that did not meet the alliance’s defense spending obligations.