BRUSSELS, March 31 (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday that NATO's agreed target spend of two percent of members' yearly economic output was neither "reachable nor desirable" countering a call by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for all allies to comply and quickly. BRUSSELS – In his first meeting with NATO, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday delivered a firm rebuke of Russian “aggression” and promised allies that the United States will stand by their side – while also demanding they spend more on defense and do more to fight terrorism. Germany is increasing its military spending this year to $39 billion, or 1.2 percent of its GDP. BRUSSELS — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday ratcheted up pressure on NATO allies to increase their defense spending, amid pushback from Germany’s top diplomat over President Donald Trump’s single-minded effort to boost the military budgets of members of the Western military alliance. NATO is under pressure to cough up more cash for defense and to demonstrate more willingness to commit forces to operations as the alliance attempts to adapt to the demands of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has questioned the military pact’s relevance. Tillerson said that if countries have not met the 2 percent spending goal by the end of the year, they should at least have a concrete plan “that clearly articulates how, with annual milestone progress commitments, the pledge will be fulfilled.”

Pressure to meet that strict deadline is likely to upset some allies. “Allies must demonstrate by their actions that they share U.S. government’s commitment.”

In Berlin, German government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said the government was committed to increasing defense spending and would continue to do so “because we know it is necessary and makes sense to further strengthen our armed forces”. But, he added, “as President Trump has made clear, it is no longer sustainable for the U.S. to maintain a disproportionate share of NATO’s defense expenditures.”

The United States is amping up pressure on NATO members to increase their defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product, in line with a 2014 agreement among the alliance’s member countries to meet the target by 2024. Tillerson’s absence was seen as a possible snub, particularly in light of Trump’s many criticisms of NATO, which he has described as “obsolete.”

The 68-year-old pact scrambled to reschedule the conference, a move Stoltenberg said shows the “commitment of all allies.”

Allies on Friday discussed how to establish national spending plans, which would establish a clear road map for reaching a NATO benchmark that calls for allies to dedicate 2 percent of gross domestic product to the military. Tillerson also repeated U.S. desires for NATO to do more to fight terrorism, but he offered no concrete requests and said that the Trump administration was still working on specific roles in which NATO could do more. “This is about cash, capabilities and commitments,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the start of the one-day meeting in Brussels of allied foreign ministers. “We will uphold the agreements we have made to defend our allies.”

Tillerson said NATO was fundamental to countering Russian aggression in Ukraine and said the United States would hold Moscow accountable to its commitments under a two-year Minsk ceasefire deal. is that as NATO adapts and faces new challenges, we have to fund this organization properly.”

Stoltenberg praised what he described as “trans-Atlantic unity.” “The meeting today was important because it was one meeting in a series of meetings where the new U.S. administration has come to Europe and expressed strong commitment to NATO, to the transatlantic bond,” Stoltenberg said. “What would be very good is that we also use those two months (until the May meeting) not only talking about defense spending, which is very important, but also preparing more concrete decisions.”

Tillerson’s earlier announcement that he would skip the ministerial meeting struck a nerve among the alliance members, coming at a sensitive time when tensions between the Trump administration and NATO allies have soared.
At a NATO meeting, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel rejects as "quite unrealistic" the belief that Germany would spend 2% of GDP on the military. He says other spending such as development aid should be taken into account.