Spain publishes NATO letter to back spending exemption claim

Madrid: Spain s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has insisted Madrid will not have to ramp up defence spending at the same rate as other NATO countries, p...

Madrid: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has insisted Madrid will not have to ramp up defence spending at the same rate as other NATO countries, publishing a letter from the alliance chief ostensibly confirming as much.

Sanchez said Sunday that Spain would not need to hit the headline figure of five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump, setting up a potential clash at a two-day NATO summit starting on Tuesday in The Hague.

NATO diplomats have disputed Madrid's view that it was granted an exception.

But Sanchez backed up his claim by posting on X a letter from NATO chief Mark Rutte dated June 22.

"I can hereby confirm that the agreement at the upcoming NATO Summit will give Spain the flexibility to determine its own sovereign path for reaching the Capability Target goal and the annual resources necessary as a share of GDP, and to submit its own annual plans," the text read.