Pellegrini at B9: Slovakia Will Support Increase in Defence Spending within NATO

Vilnius, 2 June (TASR-correspondent) - Upon arriving at the summit of leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9) in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Monday, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini confirmed that Slovakia will support the proposed increase in defence spending within NATO, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. "This meeting is very important, as an important summit in The Hague will take place in a few days. There's a need for Europe to take a greater share in its own defence within NATO. I fully support spending more, and we need to strengthen the European pillar in NATO as well. Slovakia will therefore support the announced increase in spending to 3.5 percent plus 1.5 percent [of GDP]," said the president. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed that NATO defence spending of member states should be increased to 5 percent of GDP, of which 3.5 percent would go directly into defence spending, while an additional 1.5 percent could be used for other defence-related spending. Specifically, these could be investments in strategic infrastructure such as bridges, railways and ports, which are also crucial for military purposes. In addition to NATO's eastern flank countries, representatives of the Nordic allies - Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland - are attending the talks at the invitation of Lithuania. Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are taking part in them as well. ko/df