Rutte: If NATO Countries Kept Defense Spending At 2% Of GDP, They Would Not Be Able To Defend Themselves In Three Years

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) If NATO member states kept their defense spending at just 2% of GDP, NATO would not be able to defend itself in the next three to five years.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this in an interview with CBS News , according to Ukrinform.

"If we would stick to the old 2%, we cannot defend ourselves here in three to five years," Rutte said.

He called it "staggering" to see how many billions of euros NATO's European members have committed to defense in the last couple of months.

"We have to continue doing this," Rutte added.

Read also: US not withdrawing from Ramstein format, support for Ukraine will continue – Rutte

Earlier, Rutte stated that increased European defense budgets and ramped-up weapons production were essential to ensuring Europe's security.

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