(MENAFN- IANS) Washington, Oct 10 (IANS) US President Donald Trump suggested on that Spain be expelled from NATO for refusing to increase its defence spending.

"They have no excuse not to do this," Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb. "We had one laggard, it was Spain...Maybe you should throw them out of NATO frankly."

"You people are gonna have to start speaking to Spain," Trump said. "You have to call them and find why are they a laggard."

Under pressure from Trump, NATO members in June agreed to raise their military spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2035, Xinhua news agency reported.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected the target, calling it "incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision."

Sanchez has insisted Madrid would not need to hit the headline figure. Spain has been one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defense in relative terms.

In June, the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization committed to a significant increase in defense spending over the next decade, following pressure from Donald Trump, who had warned of trade repercussions for Madrid over its opposition to the newly proposed target of five percent of GDP.

The US president rammed through the commitment to spend five per cent of their GDPs on security-related spending in a move seen as key to keeping him engaged with NATO.

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