Madrid said on Sunday it would not need to hit the five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump, setting up a potential clash at a two-day gathering starting on Tuesday in The Hague.
“We may not have done so by making a noisy statement like Spain, but I can assure you that for weeks our diplomats have been working hard to obtain the flexibility mechanisms... that could help to lighten the burden of the Belgian effort,“ he told RTBF radio. “We’re asking for maximum flexibility”.
The pledge is seen as key both to satisfying Trump -- who has threatened not to protect allies spending too little -- and helping NATO build up the forces it needs to deter Russia.
But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez contended he had struck an accord that would see his country keep respecting its commitments “without having to raise our defence spending to five percent of gross domestic product”.
But a NATO diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity Monday said there was “no opt-out”.
Belgium, like Spain, has been one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defence in relative terms.
It currently spends 1.3 percent of GDP on defence, well below the current target of two percent that the government has pledged to reach.
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