Trump: "Spain has always paid very little as a NATO member."

US President Donald Trump said this Friday that Spain "has always paid too little" as a NATO member and reiterated his belief that all members of the organization, with the exception of the United States, should contribute 5% of their GDP.

" NATO will have to deal with Spain . Spain has paid very little. It has always paid very little. Either they were good negotiators or they didn't do the right thing. I think Spain has to pay the same as everyone else. Spain is known for paying little," he told the press.

Furthermore, the White House resident has said that NATO countries "without a doubt" should dedicate 5 percent of their GDP to defense. "I think they should. I don't think we should, but I think they should. We've been spending and supporting NATO for so long . In many cases, I think, paying almost 100 percent of the cost ," he maintained.

The day before, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference that NATO member countries, including Spain, had to increase their spending to the 5 percent threshold. Hours earlier, Sánchez had informed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he could not commit to this target and suggested making an exception or making the goal "optional."

Sánchez stated that the five percent increase "is unreasonable and would be counterproductive," arguing that each government can legitimately decide whether it is willing to make the sacrifice that reaching that figure would entail—"as a sovereign ally, we choose not to"—and he offered Rutte an alternative so as not to "limit the spending ambitions of other allies."

Specifically, the Prime Minister proposed including "a more flexible formula" in the Hague summit declaration that would make "the spending target optional or exclude Spain from the application" of the five percent goal, referring to the final document that would emerge from the summit taking place on June 24 and 25 in The Hague.