Donald Trump has frequently spoken about the need for NATO allies to increase the amount they spend on defense.

(Reuters) - NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Monday the alliance's military capability targets may require members to spend as much as 3.7% of GDP on defence but this figure could be reduced with innovation and joint procurement.

NATO and its eight Baltic Sea allies say they are stepping up efforts to deter 'any attempts at sabotage' in the wake of a series of incidents that have damaged key undersea power and telecommunications cables.

The Vice-Chair of the Slovak Parliament, Tibor Gašpar, a close associate of Prime Minister Robert Fico, suggested on Friday evening on the state television channel STVR that Slovakia might consider leaving the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The EU needs to rethink its spending priorities to boost defense budgets, NATO's new Secretary-General Mark Rutte told the European Parliament on Monday.

The move marks yet another step in the systematic military encircling of Russia by the US-led military alliance, which continues to back the far-right Ukrainian regime in a war aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and subjugating its territory to semi-colonial status.

The Vice-Chair of the Slovak Parliament, Tibor Gašpar, one of Prime Minister Robert Fico's closest associates, admitted on Friday evening on the state television station STVR that the country might consider exiting the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stressed in his conversation with European Parliament members that he believes defence spending at a level of 2% is insufficient to ensure the safety of allies in the next four to five years.

NATO chief Mark Rutte told the European Union on Monday not to create barriers that would prevent companies from NATO countries that are outside the EU from taking part in its defence industrial push.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said members have to boost spending. If not Europeans should "get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand," he said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told members of the security alliance to boost defense spending or prepare to learn Russian.

For the boss of a military alliance dedicated to mutual security, Nato chief Mark Rutte seemed unperturbed by one member's recent threats to annex allied territory. On his first official visit to the European Parliament on Monday,

Russia is supplying its troops with weapons in quantities that exceed the needs for the war against Ukraine, while simultaneously preparing for a possible