Spain’s foreign minister rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that Madrid changed course after U.S. trade pressure, saying Spain understands the president to have been referring to its compliance with NATO’s original 2% spending target.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Spain’s government denied Friday that it had reversed its defense spending position after President Donald Trump claimed Madrid had moved in response to U.S. pressure.
The dispute followed Trump’s threat this week to cut off trade with Spain over its unwillingness to meet higher NATO defense spending targets. Trump later said Spain “came back all the way” after the threat.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares rejected the idea that Madrid had agreed to a broader increase demanded by Trump, according to Politico.
Albares said “only he can explain,” referring to what Trump meant by his statement.
He said Spain had chosen to interpret Trump’s comments as a reference to Madrid meeting NATO’s original 2% defense spending target, not the proposed 5% target Trump has sought.
“No, we understand [Trump] was referring to the data showing we’ve satisfactorily complied with the 2 percent target,” Albares said.
The exchange is the latest public disagreement between the Trump administration and Spain over defense and foreign policy. Earlier in the Iran war, Trump criticized Spain over its unwillingness to allow the United States to use its bases during the conflict.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Spain had reversed that policy, but Madrid denied doing so.
Friday’s response from Albares made clear that Spain is not acknowledging any new shift in its defense spending policy beyond what it says is compliance with the existing 2% NATO benchmark.
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