Germanys defense minister to trump no we dont owe nato money

You're referring to the controversy surrounding Germany's contributions to NATO.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump tweeted that Germany was "captive" to Russia because it relied heavily on Russian energy imports and didn't meet its NATO defense spending commitments. He also claimed that Germany owed NATO "vast sums of money" for its defense.

In response, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (now the President of the European Commission) pushed back against Trump's claims. She stated that Germany was committed to increasing its defense spending, but that it was not obligated to meet a specific percentage of GDP target, as some other NATO members were.

Von der Leyen also emphasized that Germany's defense spending was not a matter of debt or obligation to NATO, but rather a matter of national sovereignty and security. She pointed out that Germany had increased its defense spending by 10% in 2017 and planned to increase it by another 10% in 2018.

In a press conference, von der Leyen said: "We are not discussing debt or obligations. We are discussing the security of our country and the security of our allies. We are committed to NATO and we are committed to increasing our defense spending."

She also noted that Germany's defense spending was not just about meeting a NATO target, but about ensuring the country's own security and contributing to international security.

Trump's comments were widely criticized in Germany, with many politicians and experts arguing that the US president was misinformed or misrepresenting the facts. The controversy highlighted the tensions between the US and Germany over defense spending and NATO's role in European security.