Germany Rejects Trump's Claim on 'Berlin's Heavy Defense Debt' to NATO, US

 German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States "vast sums" of money for defense.


"There is no debt account at NATO," von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that it was wrong to link the alliance's target for members to spend 2 percent of their economic output on defense by 2024 solely to NATO, CNBC reported.

"Defense spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against ISIS terrorism," von der Leyen said.

She said everyone wanted the burden to be shared fairly and for that to happen it was necessary to have a "modern security concept" that included a modern NATO but also a European defense union and investment in the United Nations.
  [farsnews.com]
19/3/17
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