Tillerson to press NATO on defence spending – official | Reuters

WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press this week for NATO allies to demonstrate a "clear path" to increase defence spending, a State Department official said on Tuesday.Tillerson will hold his first meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on March 31.He will push allies on how they plan to meet a defence spending goal of 2 percent of gross domestic product, and press NATO to increase its role in the fight against terrorism, the official said."It is no longer sustainable for the United States to maintain a disproportionate share of NATO's deterrence and defence spending," the official said in a briefing with reporters, on condition of anonymity. President Donald Trump has unsettled European allies with demands they increase defence spending and talk of establishing an alliance with Russia to counter Islamic State militants.Tillerson's initial decision to skip his first meeting with NATO foreign ministers to attend expected talks in the United States with Chinese President Xi Jinping also reopened questions about the Trump administration's commitment to the alliance.

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