Madrid (Spain), June 25 (LaPresse) – “Spain always brings the solution and is never the problem,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at a press conference following the NATO summit in The Hague. His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed yesterday that Spain “is a problem” when it comes to NATO spending. “We defend our positions, which are shared by the social majority of the country,” Sánchez said. “If we had accepted what was proposed”—namely a 5% spending target—“we would have had to spend over 300 billion euros. And where would that money come from? From pensions, from healthcare. If there had been a different prime minister today, Spain would have signed that 5% commitment, and that would have been an absolute mistake,” he added.
“Today NATO wins, Spain wins, and so do security and welfare,” Sánchez declared. He went on to thank “my friend Mark Rutte” and “the allies for their respect toward Spanish sovereignty.” Calling it a “successful” summit that satisfies all parties, the Spanish leader read a letter from Rutte recognizing Spain’s “flexibility” in defining its path toward achieving the agreed military capability goals. Spain has endorsed those goals but plans to reach them by 2035 with a defense expenditure of 2.1% of GDP, rather than 5%.
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