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Europe must strengthen its ability to defend itself regardless of who wins the upcoming US elections or how the war in Ukraine turns out, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a global security conference in Munich on Saturday.
Developments within NATO
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has hiked its spending on defense to 2% of output and will continue to hit that target of the NATO western defense alliance, Scholz said.
The country is also discussing with allies France and Britain the development of distance-capable precision weapons in order to ensure its deterrence strategy remains cutting-edge, he said.
Still, Scholz pushed back against Trump’s comments, saying “any relativization of NATO’s defense clause only serves those who want to weaken us, like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.” The transatlantic bond remained strong, he said.