Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara is already spending around two percent of its GDP on 'defense' and voiced support for U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal of a four-percent target.
"There are wealthy countries in NATO that are still spending less than one percent of their GDP on defense and we have other states that cannot hit the two-percent target," Erdoğan told reporters.
"Turkey's support at the moment is about 1.8 percent. Of course, we have also spent about $30 billion on equipment and ammunition," he said and added that Ankara is planning to increase the spending.
Erdoğan added that Ankara will assume a new NATO assignment in Iraq and start military training for Iraqi troops as part of the fight against terrorism and to help the country to establish stability.
During the NATO summit, U.S. President Donald Trump demanded allies reach their commitment to increase spending to two percent of GDP "immediately" -- instead of by 2024 as previously agreed -- and soon after telling them to eventually double the figure.
Erdoğan also said a sustainable dialogue between NATO and Russia must be established to avoid further political and military risk and institute transparency in the relationship.
