NATO Secretary General: NATO countries will be prepared to spend hundreds of billions on weapons

¬ NATO Secretary General: The United States will continue to play a key role in Europe's nuclear defense

¬ Polish Foreign Minister: U.S. military presence in Poland has limited impact

¬ Belgian Foreign Minister: Defense spending has reached NATO's "famous" 2% GDP target

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that NATO member states are rapidly increasing defense spending and will be ready to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons in the coming years.

Rutte made the remarks ahead of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden, stating: "There is good news regarding defense spending. Funds are now flowing in, and defense spending is growing rapidly. We're now talking about tens of billions, and in the coming years, it will reach hundreds of billions."

Meanwhile, Rutte expressed concern that NATO’s defense industry cannot produce enough weapons to absorb the growing influx of funding.

He explained: "This raises an issue for us: how to spend money effectively. Our defense industrial base faces a serious problem—insufficient production capacity, which exists both in Europe and the United States." He pledged to raise this issue at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara in June.

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the United States will continue to play a crucial role in Europe's nuclear defense, but hopes that European nations will take greater responsibility in conventional arms.

The statement was made ahead of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden.

He noted: "On nuclear weapons, the United States will play a key role in Europe; but on conventional arms, the U.S. expects Europe to gradually increase its investment."

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Polish Foreign Minister Szczerski told reporters that the U.S. military presence in Poland will not significantly change.

President Trump announced on May 21 that the U.S. plans to deploy an additional 5,000 soldiers to Poland.

Szczerski said: "The U.S. military presence will remain almost at the current level."

Previously, Defense News cited anonymous officials reporting that the U.S. had canceled plans to send the First Cavalry Division’s Second Armored Brigade to Poland, which originally included over 4,000 personnel and associated equipment. The sources did not disclose the specific reasons behind the decision.

Currently, around 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland.

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Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Prévost stated that his country has reached NATO’s "notorious" 2% GDP benchmark for defense spending.

Speaking before the start of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden, he said: "In the past, we were the 'underachievers' when it came to contributing to NATO. We've made great efforts to match our allies. Now we've reached the 'notorious' 2% level, plus another 1.5% dedicated to security investments and supplementary defense."

Earlier, NATO's annual report indicated that countries bordering Russia led in defense spending in 2025, while Belgium remained a major laggard. According to data released by NATO, Poland had the highest defense expenditure in 2025, accounting for approximately 4.3% of GDP; Lithuania was around 4%; Estonia stood at 3.42%; Latvia at 3.74%; Finland at around 3%.

Belgium, Canada, Spain, and Albania were among the countries with lower spending. France (2.05%) and Germany (2.39%) slightly exceeded the 2% threshold. The United States is the only NATO member that has seen its defense spending drop from over 3.6% to 3.19% since 2014.

In recent years, Russia has observed unprecedented activity by NATO along its western border. NATO has expanded various initiatives, labeling them as "containing Russian aggression." Moscow has repeatedly voiced concerns over military buildup by NATO in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but only on equal terms, and urged the West to abandon policies that militarize the European continent.

Source: sputniknews

Original: toutiao.com/article/1865880131814472/

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