By Zhang Zhaoqing, Zhang Zhang and Xia Yuanyi

The two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting concluded in Brussels on April 4. During the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio once again urged NATO member states to increase their defense spending. The US and Europe have been in constant conflict over hot issues such as tariffs, the Ukraine crisis, and Greenland.

Analysts pointed out that although Rubio attempted to ease tensions between the US and NATO allies and emphasized that the US would not abandon NATO, transatlantic relations have become increasingly strained. The US-NATO rift is deepening and allies' trust in the US is eroding.

Defense spending was the focus of the meeting. US President Donald Trump demanded that NATO member states increase their defense expenditures to five percent of their GDP. In an interview last December, Trump even threatened that the US might withdraw from NATO if its allies failed to meet defense spending targets.

At the meeting, Rubio tried to ease NATO allies' doubts and concerns about the US. Rubio said that "the United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been" and that claims of US abandonment of NATO were groundless. Nevertheless, Rubio still urged member states to commit to and achieve the target of defense spending at five percent of GDP, calling on countries to develop specific and feasible plans. However, many European countries consider this target unrealistic. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the five percent target is a very high ambition, noting that they are not ready to commit to a number at this time.

Just one day before the foreign ministers' meeting, Trump signed an executive order at the White House to impose so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on trade partners including European countries on April 2. During the meeting, some NATO members accused the US of violating Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which stipulates, "They [the Parties] will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them." Although NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attempted to separate the tariff issue from defense matters, several foreign ministers argued that economic friction and security investment cannot be entirely separated and that the issue has already impacted transatlantic relations.

Rubio's remarks on other issues also drew criticism. On the Ukraine crisis, he said the US would find out in a few weeks if Russia is serious about peace. Regarding Greenland, he said that Denmark should recognize that Greenlanders no longer want to be part of Denmark and that once Greenland gains independence, the US would "intervene" and seek a partnership.

In response, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that the US' proposition and remarks of annexing Greenland are unacceptable and an attack on Denmark's sovereignty. 

NATO will hold another summit in The Hague, Netherlands from June 24 to 26. Public opinion suggests that finalizing the five percent defense spending goal will be the main topic at the Hague summit. Some European diplomats noted that Rubio did not set a specific timeline for achieving the goal, possibly leaving room for compromise at the summit. However, analysts pointed out that whether or not an agreement is reached, trust between the US and its NATO allies has already been severely damaged.

Editor's Note: Originally published on news.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.