NATO says 2017 defence spending to rise 4.3%, excluding US

Brussels, June 28 (IANS) Defence spending contributions from NATO's European allies and Canada are expected to rise 4.3 per cent in 2017, marking the third annual upward trend in the sector, the organisation's secretary-general said on Wednesday.

Jens Stoltenberg was speaking at a Brussels press conference on the eve of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting, Efe news reported.

"After years of decline, in 2015 we saw a real increase in defence spending across European allies and Canada," Stoltenberg said, adding: "this year we foresee an even greater real increase of 4.3 per cent."

So far in 2017, a total of $12 billion in defence spending had been registered from NATO allies excluding the US, which is added to an accumulative $46 billion spent since 2014.

Stoltenberg said that after years of spending cuts, the upward trend of defence spending was underway.

The NATO chief said five allied nations had met their defence spending targets the previous year -- currently 2 per cent of gross domestic product -- and expected Romania, Latvia and Lithuania to achieve the same by 2018.

NATO came under pressure from US President Donald Trump who urged the organisation's members to fulfil the 2 per cent target and threatened to re-evaluate his country's membership should they fail to do so.

Stoltenberg said he would expound the details of each ally's defence spending in Thursday's meeting.

Defence Ministers were set to discuss programmes to boost military spending and examine NATO missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as the operation against the Islamic State terror organisation.