US President Donald Trump will be present at the NATO summit in The Hague next month. The Government Information Service confirms this after reporting from the ANP news agency. Trump would have said on Thursday in a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Dick Schoof that he is coming to The Hague.
In a message on X, Schoof wrote on Thursday afternoon that he had had a “pleasant conversation” with Trump. Schoof said he had “emphasized that it is a great honor for the Netherlands for him […] to be allowed to welcome ”.
5 percent
As a leader of the most important NATO country, Trumps presence is more or less required to make the top in The Hague a success, but it was uncertain for a long time whether he would come.
For example, Trump objected to the possible presence of the Ukrainian President Volodyymyr Zenskyy at the top. Ukraine is not a NATO member, but would like to be that. Trump also demanded that the other Member States increase their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, a substantial increase in the current NATO standard of 2 percent.
That higher standard is the most important agenda item for the US next month. If no agreement could be reached, the US president threatened to stay at home, but in recent weeks, countries such as the Netherlands and Germany have also been supporting the plan to increase defense expenditure.
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