NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to media prior to a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2018. NATO leaders gather in Brussels for a two-day meeting. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
BRUSSELS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit will deliver on fairer burden-sharing despite disagreements, NATO chief said ahead of the two-day summit on Wednesday.
"I'm confident that despite discussions, disagreements, we will decide and we will deliver...But perhaps most important, we will also deliver when it comes to burden-sharing, defence spending," said Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General.
Stoltenberg said European Allies and Canada are expected to spend an extra 266 billion U.S. dollars on defence between now and 2024.
"And a strong NATO is important for Europe but is also important for the United States and therefore it is important that we show that this Summit, despite differences on different issues, is able to agree and deliver on strengthening NATO as a corner stone of transatlantic unity," he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Brussels on Tuesday evening for the NATO summit. He has repeatedly urged NATO European members to increase their defense spending.
"Many countries in NATO, which we are expected to defend, are not only short of their current commitment of 2 percent (which is low), but are also delinquent for many years in payments that have not been made. Will they reimburse the U.S.?" he wrote in a tweet on the eve of the NATO summit.
