"Regardless of language, the most important thing is that we increase defense spending and that is exactly what we are doing," Stoltenberg said when asked about NATO's response to Trump's calls for it to do more to share the burden with Washington.
On the campaign trail and in his first days in office, Trump appeared to put in doubt the near 70-year US security guarantee for NATO which he dubbed "obsolete" while accusing some allies of not paying their way.
His remarks caused consternation among the allies who had agreed in 2014 to increase defense spending to two percent of national economic output by 2024, reversing years of cuts.
Stoltenberg said all 28 allies had agreed that commitment and they reaffirmed it last year at a Warsaw summit.
"That has been my top priority and I have raised it in all the meetings that I have had," he told a press briefing before a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday, AFP reported.
"In 2015, we stopped the cuts and in 2016 ... we made the first significant step in increasing defense spending by 3.8 percent" or $10 billion, he added.
He said that in two phone calls with Trump, the new president "strongly expressed his strong commitment to NATO ... but in both calls he underlined fair burden sharing."
"Those that spend less than the two percent have to meet the two percent target and I agree with him," he said.
(Tasnim)
14/2/17
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