Rubio reaffirms U.S. commitment to NATO, calls for increased defence spending

Brussels, April 4 -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) during his first meeting with the alliance's foreign ministers, while emphasising the need for more defence spending in Europe. "President Trump has made it clear he supports NATO. We are going to remain in NATO," Rubio told reporters Thursday in Brussels. "The only way NATO can get stronger and more viable is if our partners - the nation-states that comprise this important alliance - have more capability."

Rubio said he hoped to leave the meeting with a clear pledge from allies to raise defence spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product. That figure would more than double NATO's current t...