. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Slovakia next Thursday to discuss an increase in defense expenditures of alliance members, President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini said, APA reports citing CTK news agency.
Rutte will hold talks with Pellegrini and Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, the agency informed. “It is important that the increase in [defense] expenditures will be discussed with NATO member-countries, to what level, at what pace and during what time [they will grow],” Pellegrini said, commenting on forthcoming talks. Implementation of plans to increase defense spending should be based on needs of each alliance member and cater for requirements of their armed forces, he added.