ANTALYA: Germany on Thursday backed US President Donald Trump’s demand to more than double Nato’s defence spending target to 5 per cent of GDP, as Washington urged countries to eliminate any “weak links” in the alliance caused by a lack of military investment.

“We are following him (Trump), and we see this as a clear commitment by the United States to Nato’s Article 5,” Germany’s new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, referring to the military alliance’s mutual defence pact. Wadephul, who took office earlier last week as part of a new conservative-led government, was speaking at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in the Turkish city of Antalya, where defence spending was high on the agenda.

Nato’s current defence spending target is 2pc of GDP — a goal currently met or exceeded by 22 of its 32 members. But many Nato leaders say that target is now too low, as they see Russia as a much greater threat following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

With six weeks to go before Nato leaders hold a summit at The Hague, member countries are striving to satisfy Trump’s demands, aiming to prevent a recurrence of past threats by the US president to withdraw from the alliance or weaken the US commitment to collective defence.

Nato chief Mark Rutte has proposed a two-pronged approach to meet Trump’s 5pc call, suggesting allies spend 3.5pc of their GDP on defence and dedicate a further 1.5pc to broader security-related issues such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. Thursday’s meeting was the first opportunity for foreign ministers to discuss the proposal.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025