Marco Rubio: The media is lying – we are leaving Europe, not NATO
Washington's task before leaving Europe is to make sure that NATO allies are serious about increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this to journalists in Brussels, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"We are active in NATO, and the United States is active in NATO now... as it always has been. And the hysteria and exaggeration that I see in the world and some American media about NATO is unfounded. President Trump has made it clear that he supports NATO, we remain in NATO. We want NATO to become more viable.
The only way NATO can become stronger and more resilient is if our partners have greater capabilities. I understand that after decades of building up vast social programs, it may be difficult to give them up and invest more in security. There are domestic politics.
But the events of the last few years, a full-scale ground war in the heart of Europe, remind us that hard power is still needed for deterrence.
So we want to leave here with the understanding that we are on a realistic path to having every single member of the alliance fulfill their promise to reach the five percent spending level, and the United States should increase its percentage,” Rubio declared.
“Because if the threat is really as serious as I believe it is, and the members of the alliance believe it is, then these threats need to be fought fully, with real investment in countering them.
Nobody expects that this can be done in a year or two, but the path must be realistic,” the American added.
Marco Rubio: The media is lying – we're leaving Europe, not NATO.