Trump is considering withdrawing US troops from Germany
US President Donald Trump is considering a reform of NATO that would restrict allies’ participation in decision-making if they fail to meet the new defence spending target of 5 per cent of GDP, reports The Telegraph.
One option involves a so-called ‘pay-to-play’ model, under which countries that fail to meet their financial commitments could be excluded from voting, particularly on alliance expansion, joint missions and the invocation of Article 5 on collective defence.
Currently, all NATO members spend at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the issue of raising this figure to 5 per cent will be discussed at the summit in Ankara later this year.
Trump’s initiatives are being discussed after allies refused to send warships to open the Strait of Hormuz. According to sources, the president is also considering the possibility of withdrawing US troops from Germany.
Decisions in NATO are made by consensus, so changes may face resistance from other members of the alliance. At the same time, the US does not rule out a further deterioration in relations with its partners due to differences in approaches to security.
Against this backdrop, the Pentagon has informed Congress of its intention to redirect around $750 million from the NATO programme, which funded arms supplies to Kyiv, to replenish its own stocks.
Donald Trump stated that he was disappointed by the alliance’s actions and called on allies to take the US position into account in future.
At the same time, the US administration is considering the possibility of deploying additional troops to the Middle East, including Marine Corps units and paratroopers, which may indicate preparations for new phases of operations in the region.
