18 July 2025, 10:41

Expert comments on Trump’s spending formula for NATO members

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MINSK, 18 July (BelTA) – US President Donald Trump has come up with a cunning formula regarding NATO members, which can be roughly articulated as follows: if you can’t pay, then goodbye, Russian military observer of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, retired colonel Viktor Baranets said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

Speaking about US President Donald Trump’s demand that NATO countries increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, Viktor Baranets expressed confidence that this decision is completely consistent with the logic of the American leader. “For some less wealthy NATO members, this could lead to a crisis. They may have to spend up to a third of the national budget. This was not met with a storm of applause,” the military observer said.

To support his point, he cited Slovenia that openly declared that it is not ready to take such a step. Moreover, this country has announced that it might hold a referendum on whether it should even be a member of NATO. According to Viktor Baranets, Washington and Brussels are afraid of this.

“Nevertheless, the cunning Trump is pushing the costs onto Europe. This is understandable. But there is another option, which gives defense contractors from the United States colossal opportunities to line their pockets. They [European countries] will supply weapons to Ukraine, but only pay them [the USA]. This is the cunning formula Trump came up with. There are some NATO countries that are complaining, whining about something... And Trump insists: if you can’t pay, then goodbye,” the military observer emphasized.