Europe and Canada say they’ll spend more on defense, but are cool on US demands WSOC TV [Video]

BRUSSELS — (AP) — European NATO allies and Canada on Friday said they are willing to ramp up defense spending but are cool on American demands for the size of their military budgets, particularly given U.S. President Donald Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

U.S. allies have spent billions of dollars more on defense since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, but almost a third of them still don’t meet NATO’s target of at least 2% of their gross domestic product.

Trump has said that U.S. allies should commit to spending at least 5%, but that would require investment at an unprecedented scale. According to NATO figures, the U.S. was projected to have spent 3.38% last year, the only ally whose spending has dropped over the last decade.

“It is important that we all agree that Russia is a threat. If not, I don’t know why we should always increase …