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NATO
nations must raise their defence spending to five per cent and end ‘reliance’ on the United States, US Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth
told NATO allies today.
‘Our message is going to continue to be clear,’ Hegseth said during a meeting with NATO counterparts in Brussels.
‘It’s a deterrence and peace through strength, but it can’t be reliance. It cannot and will not be reliance on America in a world of a lot of threats.’
Hegseth, standing alongside NATO chief Mark Rutte, repeated calls made in February for Europe to take more involvement in defence as the US pivots east.
‘Every shoulder has to be to the plough,’ he said. ‘Every country has to contribute at that level of 5% as a recognition of the threat.’
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