‘Questions are being asked’: In historic speech, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg tells US Congress of serious divisions as he points to old adversary Russia
- In the first speech by a Nato chief to Congress, Jens Stoltenberg highlighted how the US has benefited from the alliance, in spite of Donald Trump’s scepticism
- Stoltenberg said member states needed bigger defence budgets to deal with Russia’s assertiveness
In the first address to the US Congress by a Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday acknowledged serious divisions within the alliance and called for bigger defence budgets to cope with global challenges like Russian assertiveness – the core reason Nato was created in Washington 70 years ago this week.
“We have to be frank,” Stoltenberg said to a joint meeting of Congress. “Questions are being asked on both sides of the Atlantic about the strength of our partnership. And, yes, there are differences.”
Stoltenberg credited US President Donald Trump with compelling allies to spend more on defence, without noting that Trump also has questioned the value of the alliance and suggested that some member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are freeloaders.
Trump’s criticisms have upset a delicate balance within an alliance that has long counted on Washington to be its leader. Stoltenberg’s speech provided a diplomatic counterpoint to Trump’s sometimes derisive rhetoric, and the enthusiastic reception he received from both parties in the House was testament to the enduring pro-Nato consensus in Congress.
“The secretary general delivered to Congress a powerful affirmation of the value of the Nato alliance,” said Representative Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican.