President Trump reacts next to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as they attend a working lunch during the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain, Dec. 4, 2019.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis highlighted the “very long history” between the two countries, saying that the relationship is “more than politics.”
Instead, he reiterated the message that whoever wins the election will need to focus on the same message of defense spending that Trump pushed during his first administration.
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Prior to the Trump administration, only a few members of NATO had upheld their commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defense, but that number rose sharply due to Trump’s insistence and hard-line stance over the issue.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in June reported that 23 of the 32 member states have hit the minimum spending requirement, which helped improve the bloc’s ability to support Ukraine and, potentially, deter Russian aggression beyond its current ambitions.
No European nation, though, has touted the success of Trump’s first term and expressed hopes for a strong second term as has Hungary. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó revealed his government would have “huge expectations” for a new Trump administration.
“We have huge expectations because we do believe that many of the major crises which give us a lot of concern can be resolved by an administration of President Trump,” Szijjártó said, noting he speaks as the longest-serving foreign minister in NATO with 10 years under his belt.
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“I didn’t really see anyone laughing at Trump,” Szijjártó said. “What I’ve seen many having fear. I’ve seen many being afraid of a U.S. president being honest, not a hostage by the liberal mainstream, representing a patriotic position, speaking clearly about America first.”
Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have done little to hide their rosy friendship, with Trump invoking the Hungarian leader as a “strong man of Europe” who speaks well of the former president.
Orbán proved this is a mutual dynamic when he chose to leave the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this year to instead meet with Trump in Mar-a-Lago in Florida to discuss foreign relations.
“Under President Trump, everything was under control,” Szijjártó said. “Since President Trump has left office, the whole global security situation is deteriorating. So, I mean, these are experiences.”
“If we base it on our experience, we say yes, from a perspective of U.S.-Hungary relations, I think President Trump would bring another impetus, freshness, dynamism to this relationship. And I think if President Trump is elected, I think the world has a good chance to become a more peaceful place compared to the current situation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original article source: European officials dismiss claim world leaders ‘are laughing’ at Trump, praise his ‘strong message’
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Publish date : 2024-09-29 05:06:00
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