US President Donald Trump suggested that Spain shout be “thrown out” of NATO as he met with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb in the White House on Thursday.

The meeting, supposed to be the prelude to Finland’s purchasing of US icebreaker ships, steered into a discussion on the defence alliance, as Trump looked to reignite his months-long feud with the Iberian nation over disagreements on defence spending.

Trump has long clashed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez since late June’s NATO summit in The Hague, where just days before the alliance’s leaders convened, Sanchez announced that Spain, will not be complying with Trump’s demands of increasing defence spending to 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from previous targets of 2%.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertiseme

See Full Page