US, French diplomats discuss shared defence priorities amid NATO spending talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot engaged in a telephone conversation on January 27, focusing on enhancing the bilateral partnership between the US and France.

The conversation was also dedicated to discussing Western defence spending, according to a statement released by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, per Caliber.Az.

"Secretary Rubio reaffirmed that the United States-France alliance is central to the security and well-being of the American people," Bruce said in a written statement. She added that the two ministers "praised the depth of global cooperation" between their countries, and "explored ways to further the US-France partnership through close collaboration and consultation on shared priorities, including defence spending".

The conversation comes amid US President Donald Trump's recent remarks about NATO members' defence expenditures. Trump has been vocal about his intention to push NATO countries to increase their military spending to 5% of their GDP.

NATO set the goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence during the 2014 Wales Summit, following Russia's annexation of Crimea. At the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023, the 2% was confirmed as a minimum threshold rather than a target.

By Tamilla Hasanova