President Donald Trump said that Russia would not attack NATO countries as long as he remained in the White House, The Washington Post reported, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, during the main session of the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump "vowed" that Russia would not pose a threat and praised the alliance's efforts to increase defense spending.

In addition, the newspaper's sources noted that the leaders of European NATO countries praised the US leader for encouraging them to increase military spending, and some highly assessed the US Air Force's airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

On June 19, at a meeting with the heads of the world's leading news agencies, Russian President Vladimir Putin called claims that Russia was planning to attack European countries and NATO "lies and nonsense."

NATO’s increased defense spending won’t bring security to Europe

NATO's unrestrained military expansion and increased defense spending will not be able to ensure Europe's security, as clearly demonstrated by the Ukrainian crisis, the Global Times newspaper reported following the conclusion of the NATO summit in The Hague.

"In the joint statement after the meeting, the most important ‘outcome’ was an agreement to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP - a goal that prompted a ‘strong backlash’ in Europe when it was proposed by the US earlier this year. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, acting as Washington's ‘loyal canvasser,’ pulled out all the stops to ‘trick’ European countries into loosening their purse strings: When the ‘Russia threat’ was no longer enough, he trotted out the ‘China threat,’ making irresponsible comments about the Taiwan question and even smearing China using the Ukraine issue. This not only digs a pit for European countries but also causes trouble and chaos for the world," the article said.

According to the newspaper, increasing defense spending from two to five percent of GDP over the next decade will result in an additional spending of trillions of dollars. This will make NATO one of the fastest-growing alliances in terms of global military spending. "The last time NATO called for a military spending increase was in 2014, with most of the largest increases coming from Eastern European countries. Ten years on, have these nations become more secure because of this? The answer is obvious. Not only was Eastern Europe implicated in the war, but the whole of Europe was forced into the Ukrainian crisis, and the global economy has suffered as a result. NATO's unchecked and unrestrained military expansion is largely to blame," the newspaper noted.

The article also said that the logic of "engaging in military expansion while accusing others of being a threat" is not only foolish but also malicious. According to Global Times, the NATO chief’s statements prove to an attempt to completely tie Europe to the US military chariot. "NATO, a war machine that should have been shut down long ago, now relies on clinging to US coattails and doing Washington's ‘dirty work’ to survive, constantly spinning the absurd narrative that ‘war equals security’ to scare Europeans," the newspaper pointed out.

"The era of NATO is long gone. Under the guiding principle of ‘America First,’ Washington repeatedly wields a ‘no money, no protection’ stance, reducing NATO to a bargaining chip in US geopolitical trades. Allocating 5% of GDP to military spending is a heavy burden for European countries, but it still falls far short of satisfying Washington's geopolitical appetite and will only make the US ask for more from Europe. European nations, especially those unwilling to be dragged into wars, must remain clearheaded," the article concluded.

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