WorldBRUSSELS, AFP -NATO's commitment to defend all allies against any threat is “unconditional” and irrespective of whether they pay their dues, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. But he added, “I have clearly stated that what matters for NATO is that we don't say that if you don't pay, we don't protect you,” he told a press briefing at NATO HQ in Brussels ahead of a two-day alliance defence ministers meeting. Stoltenberg said NATO leaders decided in 2014 to increase defence spending to counter a more assertive Russia and that the 28 alliance members had reversed years of defence cuts and that their spending had been increasing since 2015. “I would like to underline that NATO security guarantees are not conditioned, they are absolute and unconditional,” he said. The United States is the largest military power in NATO and accounts for some two-thirds of the alliance's combined defence spending.

Source: Sunday Times October 25, 2016 12:33 UTC