Antalya [Turkey], May 16 (ANI): NATO Foreign Ministers met in Turkey's Antalya on Wednesday and Thursday with a key focus on increasing defence spending, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declaring that the current 2 per cent of GDP target is 'not nearly enough.'

He urged the allies to invest more in core military capabilities, infrastructure, and resilience to address growing security challenges. The ministers also reaffirmed NATO's long-term support for Ukraine, stressing the importance of sustained assistance to secure a just and lasting peace.

In a statement released on Thursday, NATO said, 'On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 May, NATO Foreign Ministers met in Antalya, Turkiye to discuss strengthening Allied deterrence and defence, and to move forward preparations for the Summit in The Hague in June. The Secretary General made clear that determining a new baseline spending figure was to be the core deliverable for the Summit, emphasising that the existing target of 2% is not nearly enough.'

'We will need greater investment in our core military requirements as well as additional broader defence-related investments, including infrastructure and resilience,' Stoltenberg said, stressing that this made both economic and strategic sense.

'We have to make sure that we spend enough money all over NATO to keep ourselves safe,' Stoltenberg continued, insisting the changes would be crucial to meeting NATO's new capability targets and deterring aggression.

Rutte also praised NATO members for demonstrating their growing commitment to fair burden-sharing, affirming 'we are now on the right track.'

'Most Allies are now set to reach the initial aim of spending 2% of GDP on defence this year and many have already announced plans to go much further,' he added.

The Secretary General also reaffirmed NATO's long-term support for Ukraine, highlighting efforts to bring the war to a just and lasting end as a shared priority for all Allies. 'With or without a settlement, it is clear that our support to Ukraine will continue to be important to ensure a lasting peace,' he said.

Notably, in 2014, NATO Heads of State and Government agreed to commit 2 per cent of their national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defence spending, to help ensure the Alliance's continued military readiness. In 2024, 22 Allies were expected to meet or exceed the target of investing at least 2 per cent of GDP in defence, compared to only three Allies in 2014. Over the past decade, European Allies and Canada have steadily increased their collective investment in defence, from 1.43 per cent of their combined GDP in 2014 to 2.02 per cent in 2024, when they are investing a combined total of more than USD 485 billion (adjusted to 2021 prices) in defence.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that NATO allies, including the UK, Germany, France, and Italy, along with Secretary General Stoltenberg, agreed on the need for increased defence spending, fair burden-sharing, and stronger collective deterrence.

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1923123279851630631

Sharing a post on X, he wrote, 'In Turkiye, there is no ambiguity: NATO remains a vital security alliance. Together with the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and @SecGenNATO, we agreed on the need for greater defence investment, fair burden-sharing, and stronger collective deterrence.' (ANI)