FILE PHOTO: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius speaks during a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania December 18, 2023. REUTERS/Janis Laizans/ FILE PHOTO
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany may need to spend more than 2% of its gross domestic product on defence to deter Russia in the coming years, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday.
"I am proud to say that this year we will spend over 2% percent of our GDP on defence. I am also realistic enough to see that this might not be enough in the years to come," he said at the annual Munich Security Conference, according to a prepared speech text.
Germany has met the 2% NATO alliance target for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the country's defence ministry said earlier this week, as spending ramped up after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Pistorius's comments come after German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Friday that it would be "a challenge" for Germany to maintain defence spending of 2% of GDP.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; editing by Matthias Williams)
