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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says he is “fairly confident” Canada will be able to meet the alliance’s higher defence spending target, which will likely be set at the next leaders’ summit at the end of June.
He has said the spending benchmark would probably increase to five per cent of a country’s gross domestic product.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Tuesday, Rutte said the current two per cent target might be enough for the 32 member countries to protect themselves today, but “ramping up” the benchmark is necessary to prepare for the next five years.
“We have to protect ourselves against our adversaries like Russia but also China, which is increasingly building up its armed forces,” Rutte said from the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
He said member countries need to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin will “never, ever attack us.”
His comments come after he praised Canada for developing a plan to reach the two per cent spending benchmark by the end of the current fiscal year in March.
In May, Defence Minister David McGuinty hinted that the Carney government was hoping to exceed its pledge to meet that spending target.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, speaking from Kananaskis, Alta., Tuesday, praised Canada’s plan to hit the alliance’s two per cent defence spending target by March. But Rutte is also immediately looking to raise that target to five per cent at the NATO summit next week.
Rutte did not meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit before the president made an early exit. But Rutte said there is “no doubt” that Trump is “completely committed to NATO.”
However, Rutte said Trump expects allies to “step up” their defence spending to match the U.S.
His statement echoes a recurring criticism from the Trump administration, which has faulted Canada for not pulling its weight on defence spending while benefiting from the safety provided by sharing a border with the United States.
Rutte said that increasing the target to make Canadian and European spending “more equal” to the U.S. would help build a stronger alliance.
Support for Ukraine
Rutte praised Trump for “breaking the deadlock with President Putin by starting these direct talks” with the intention of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
“It has to be the United States, being such a powerful ally, to have those direct talks with the Russian president,” he said.
NATO’s secretary general also commended Canada for supporting Ukraine and noted that alliance members remain committed to supplying the war-torn country with what it needs in the fight against Russia.
After Russia’s deadliest attack this year on Kyiv, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday tougher sanctions against Russia as well as a new $2-billion package for Ukraine to fund helicopters, drones and ammunition. His office said money is going toward armoured vehicles as well.
Canada is also lending Ukraine $2.3 billion to help rebuild its infrastructure and public systems. The Prime Minister’s Office said the loan will be repaid by interest charged on Russian assets frozen in Europe.
“Canada indeed is absolutely stepping up here and doing a lot to support Ukraine,” Rutte said.