NATO say allies agree Mattis’ message is fair

Global Business

From left, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon arrive for a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged allies to step up their defense spending prior to the start of a two-day meeting between the new U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his 27 NATO counterparts in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

NATO allies say U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ message calling for increased spending on defense is “firm” and “fair”, the head of the alliance told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

CGTN’s Mariam Zaidi reports.

Speaking after the second working session of NATO defense heads, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the ministers appreciated “the clarity of the message by Secretary Mattis” and were all ready to bolster their spending on defense to at least two percent of their national GDP.

Earlier in the day, Mattis told allies they must start increasing defense spending by year’s end or the Trump administration will “moderate its commitment” to them.

Story by the Associated Press.