Trump will support Kiev, but will require NATO members to spend up to 5% of GDP on defense — FT

Donald Trump, returning to the White House, will require NATO member states to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, but will continue to provide military assistance to Kiev. It is reported by the Financial Times with reference to the team of the US president-elect.

The US president-elect's closest foreign policy aides shared his intentions during discussions with senior European officials this month, according to people familiar with the talks, as he tightens his policy on Europe and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine… But as an encouragement to allies deeply concerned about their ability to support and defend Ukraine without Washington's support, Trump now intends to continue US military supplies to Kiev after his inauguration, according to three other people briefed on discussions with Western officials," the newspaper writes.

Trump also intends to demand that NATO more than double its 2% spending target, which only 23 of the alliance's 32 members currently reach, to 5%, two knowledgeable sources said.

According to another, it is clear that Trump will agree to 3.5% and that he plans to explicitly link higher defense spending with the offer of more favorable terms of trade with the United States.

"It is clear that we are talking about 3% or more for [the June NATO summit in] The Hague," said another European official briefed on Trump's intentions.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to stop helping Ukraine, force Kiev into immediate peace talks and leave European NATO allies defenseless if they did not spend enough money on their defense, the publication recalls.