NATO chief says US needs allies after Trump suggests abandoning laggards

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gestures as he holds a press conference ahead of NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 14, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO said on Wednesday that Europe had increased its spending on defence and the United States needed allies, days after former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Washington might not protect countries that did not spend enough.

"I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence this year," Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels, adding overall military spending was set for another record year after two years of Russia's full-fledged war against Ukraine.