Brussels, 15 Feb (Xinhua) -- The one-day meeting of defense ministers of NATO member states ended in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on 15 February. The meeting discussed issues such as strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as support for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference after the meeting that the security environment is deteriorating day by day, but that there is currently no "imminent military threat" against NATO members.
Stoltenberg said NATO had made "historic progress" in increasing defense spending. Eighteen NATO members are expected to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense this year, up from just three in 2014. NATO's European defense investment will reach $380 billion this year, equivalent to 2% of the total GDP of these countries. Since the 2014 defense commitment, NATO's European members and Canada are expected to increase their defense spending by more than $600 billion by the end of this year.
Stoltenberg said that the issue of increasing ammunition production was also discussed at the meeting of defense ministers. To replenish stocks and continue to support Ukraine, NATO ammunition production needs to "move from a slow pace in peacetime to a fast pace required in times of conflict." In the past few months, NATO has agreed to contracts worth tens of billions of dollars.
On Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that NATO allies are striving to achieve the goal of delivering 1 million drones to Ukraine. The 20 NATO member states agreed to form a demining alliance. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States has provided about $75 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and other NATO members and partners have provided a total of more than $100 billion.
On April 4, 1949, the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., with 12 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Portugal, and Italy. After several rounds of expansion, NATO now has 31 member states. (ENDS).