Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned the alliance’s partners of unexpected moves by the incoming US President Donald Trump. However, it was already possible to build a working relationship during his last term in office, Stoltenberg said in the ZDF’s “Heute-Journal”. “We made progress on important issues like security spending and the US presence in Europe.”
Trump’s demand for further increases in the defense spending of the allies, up to five percent of their economic output, is high, according to Stoltenberg. However, the European allies had already managed to increase their security spending in recent years, he said. “The reality is that we live in a more dangerous world, we must invest more in security. And I expect the allies to do even more in the coming years.”
Regarding the demands on Greenland, the future head of the Munich Security Conference hopes that the US administration and Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen “might still resolve their difficulties”. “We must, of course, be prepared for surprises, for sharp tones – that has already been seen with Trump” the Norwegian said.
What can be done best now, however, is “to sit down with the United States and talk about the points where there are disagreements” Stoltenberg said.