President Donald Trump criticized Spain for not contributing enough to NATO while attending the defense alliance summit in Türkiye.
“Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Please stop all trade with Spain, including travel,” he said at a press conference in Ankara with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The President said, “Don’t even talk to them. They’re desperate, bad people.” “There are others, but especially in Spain,” he said.
It marks the latest development in Trump’s dispute with Spain over defense spending. It is the only member of the military alliance that did not commit last year to spending 5% of its GDP on defense by 2035.
Spain is set to spend 2.1% of its GDP on defense in 2025, up from 1.4% in 2021, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, but that still lags behind most European countries.
Rutte, sitting next to Trump, interrupted the president, saying, “You asked Spain to pay 2%. They spent, they took a big step last year.” Rutte said that “we still have some issues to resolve” regarding Spain.
CNBC has contacted the Spanish government for comment.
Spanish bonds – which were already selling off before the press conference – fell further after Trump’s comments, with the yield on Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond last seen rising 7 basis points to 3.5408%.
of spain ibex 35 The equity index also fell, and was last seen trading down more than 1%.
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