U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed what he described as "tremendous unity" among NATO allies and pledged to accelerate American defence production, saying European nations were eager to acquire U.S.-made military equipment as they move to bolster defence spending.
Speaking at a press conference following the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said he had briefed allied leaders on efforts to rapidly expand U.S. weapons production.
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"They (European nations) want the American equipment, because it works better," Trump said.
"I provided other leaders with an update on the steps we're taking to rapidly scale up production in the United States. And they wanted to hear that, because they don't really want to get it in four years, five years, they want to get it like in a week."
Trump also said NATO members were making significant progress toward meeting the alliance's target of spending 5% of GDP on defence, calling it an important step in strengthening the bloc's collective security.
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Commenting on the recent conflict involving Iran, Trump defended his administration's approach, telling reporters that his handling of the crisis had been a "big success."
The U.S. president's remarks came as NATO allies continue to push for higher defence spending and faster procurement of military equipment amid growing security challenges in Europe and the Middle East.
