Lipavský responds to Trump: NATO never stronger, Czechia increasing defence spending

The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has responded to a comment by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member that fails to make a sufficient financial contribution to the alliance. Mr. Lipavský said on Sunday that NATO was currently at its strongest ever, “both because of the strong transatlantic link and because of the domestic deterrence and defence tasks that European allies are performing.”

The Czech foreign policy chief said that, in the face of the biggest threat since WWII, Czechia was increasing defence spending and acquiring “new capabilities, many of which originate in the US.”

Mr. Lipavský also said he hoped Mr. Trump did not hear what the leaders of Czechia’s ANO party had to say on spending on F-35s. The grouping’s leader Andrej Babiš says the country does not need the US-made planes.