NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday for being elected president of the United States, and emphasised that members were increasing their military spending, a response to a persistent Trump criticism of the Western alliance.

New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is confident that the United States will remain in the defence alliance, even if Donald Trump becomes the 47th president of the United States. Rutte, in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF on Monday evening,

NATO-member defense spending may come back into focus as former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to office. Republican Trump, 78, was elected president on Wednesday, defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.