--- title: Montenegro's Dusko Markovic on NATO Summit and Trump Shove description: My harmless brush with President Trump became the story of the summit, writes the Montenegrin leader. But NATO membership is more meaningful canonical: https://time.com/4797972/dusko-markovic-montenegro-nato-donald-trump/ author: Duško Marković article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-30T16:24:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:16.917Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Montenegro's Dusko Markovic on NATO Summit and Trump Shove og:description: My harmless brush with President Trump became the story of the summit, writes the Montenegrin leader. But NATO membership is more meaningful og:url: https://time.com/4797972/dusko-markovic-montenegro-nato-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e45ec3830112dcf/6988cf62ab6d77689d6ae4f1/trump-markovic.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Belgium NATO Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Montenegro's Dusko Markovic on NATO Summit and Trump Shove twitter:description: My harmless brush with President Trump became the story of the summit, writes the Montenegrin leader. But NATO membership is more meaningful twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e45ec3830112dcf/6988cf62ab6d77689d6ae4f1/trump-markovic.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:37 video:published: 2017-05-25 section: world topics: NATO, defence spending, terrorism, immigration, Russia threat, financial obligations, 2 percent GDP target, alliance burden sharing genre: news, speech excerpt tones: assertive, direct, urgent, critical emotions: determination (high), frustration (medium), concern (medium) sentiment: negative audience: policymakers, international relations followers, general news readers, taxpayers people: Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg organizations: NATO, United States government content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:37]; war [00:00-01:37] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Montenegro PM: Trump's Shove Was a 'Harmless Situation' That Doesn't Affect Our Friendship > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=7771eabc-2cc9-4fc3-a358-81e7b827cff5&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Pushes NATO Members to Pay 'Their Fair Share' [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Pushes NATO Members to Pay 'Their Fair Share'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1ukHZwSy.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2017-05-25. Meeting fellow NATO leaders for the first time, U.S. President Donald Trump aggressively challenged them Thursday to spend more on their own defense, putting the alliance under exceptional pressure to become tougher, sharper and newly relevant_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump addresses NATO leaders, calling for a future NATO that focuses on terrorism, immigration, and threats from Russia along its eastern and southern borders. He says NATO members must contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations. He notes that 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should for defence, and argues that 2 percent of GDP is the bare minimum for confronting current threats. ## Key points - The future NATO must focus heavily on terrorism and immigration, along with threats from Russia and on NATO's eastern and southern borders. (00:00) - Trump says he has been very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and alliance members that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share. (00:24) - Trump states that 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should for their defence. (00:40) - Trump argues that the shortfall is unfair to American taxpayers, and says many nations owe massive amounts of money from past years. (00:52) - Trump says 2 percent is the bare minimum for confronting today's very real and very vicious threats. (01:04) - Trump claims NATO would be even stronger if member countries made their full and complete contributions, especially against terrorism. (01:18) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:24] Future NATO priorities and security threats. Trump outlines the threats he believes the alliance should focus on, including terrorism, immigration, and Russia. - [00:24 to 00:40] Demand that members pay their share. Trump says he has pressed Stoltenberg and alliance members that NATO nations must meet their financial obligations. - [00:40 to 01:04] Criticism of unpaid defence contributions. Trump says most member nations are not paying their required defence amounts, which he describes as unfair to U.S. taxpayers. - [01:04 to 01:37] Call for 2 percent spending and full contributions. Trump calls 2 percent of GDP the bare minimum and argues full contributions would strengthen NATO against terrorism. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Donald Trump: "The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATO's eastern and southern borders." - [00:24] Donald Trump: "NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations." - [00:40] Donald Trump: "But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defence." - [00:52] Donald Trump: "This is not fair to the people and tax payers of the United States" - [01:04] Donald Trump: "2 % is the bare minimum for confronting today's very real, and very vicious threats." ## Questions this video answers - What does Trump say the future NATO should focus on? [00:00] - Why does Trump say NATO members must contribute more? [00:24] - How many NATO member nations does Trump say are not paying what they should? [00:40] - Why does Trump say the current funding situation is unfair? [00:52] - What spending level does Trump call the bare minimum for defence? [01:04] - How would full NATO contributions affect the alliance, according to Trump? [01:18] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:37]: Political speech on national defence, alliance funding and security threats. - war [00:00-01:37]: Discusses military defence and threats from Russia, terrorism and conflict on NATO borders. by [Duško Marković](https://time.com/author/dusko-markovic/) ## Duško Marković May 30, 2017 4:24 PM UTC  Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, center right, after appearing to be pushed by Donald Trump, center, during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, center right, after appearing to be pushed by Donald Trump, center, during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. Matt Dunham—AP by [Duško Marković](https://time.com/author/dusko-markovic/) ## Duško Marković May 30, 2017 4:24 PM UTC On June 5, [Montenegro](http://time.com/4673038/dusko-markovic-montenegro-russia-nato/) will [formally join NATO](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/28/montenegro-ratifies-nato-membership-in-historic-shift-to-western-alliance) – thus reaching a historic milestone and joining the most powerful countries in the world in order to work together on the promotion of the values of the civilization with a view to preserving peace and stability in the world. Last Thursday’s [summit](http://time.com/4795491/donald-trump-body-language-nato-summit/) was really impressive for me personally, for the Montenegrin delegation and for Montenegro. We were there where we belong – at the table where decisions are made, welcomed by 28 leaders of the NATO member states and able to clearly state that, grateful for the up-to-date support, we want to contribute to the key tasks of the alliance in the future and to help and support other developing democracies. Those who are familiar with the history of Montenegro over the last two centuries understand why the guarantee of our independence, which we definitely get through NATO membership, is so important to us. It happened several times in history that the fate of Montenegro was decided in its absence. It will never be possible again. At the meeting of heads of state and/or government, as well as in separate meetings with leaders, I said that we would take part in defense and deterrence and projecting stability beyond the borders of the alliance. I want to recall that Montenegro has been supporting the efforts of allies in Afghanistan to contribute to peace and strengthening security and democracy. In addition, as a new ally, Montenegro is strongly advocating for stepping up NATO engagement in the fight against terrorism. Bearing in mind its position of the factor of stability in the Balkans for many years, Montenegro will continue to be dedicated to this goal as well as the promotion of peace, with a strong commitment to continuing the policy of expansion of the alliance. In Brussels, I had the opportunity for a brief encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump and expressed my gratitude for the support that the United States has been continuously providing to Montenegro in order to strengthen democracy, reinforce institutions and become a part of the most powerful alliance in today’s world. Enormous media attention was given undeservedly to [what happened with President Trump ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/26/breaking-down-trumps-shove-the-internet-debates-and-montenegros-leader-shrugs/?utm%5Fterm=.b69f38f6fef0)during the tour of the new building of the Alliance – it was really a harmless situation that can in no way affect the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries. I am honored by the attention that the U.S. has given me; therefore, following my recent meeting with Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, I will be again in Washington D.C. on June 5\. I will attend a ceremony at the State Department on the occasion of handing the instrument of ratification for membership in NATO, and after that, I will have a bilateral meeting with Vice President, Mike Pence. The overall success of Montenegro would not be possible without the help of the United States. I believe that our partnership and friendship are eternal. We all know that friendship is not measured by the size and wealth of a country, but good intentions and deeds. I want to tell the American people that they will always have a sincere and reliable friend in Montenegro. ## Transcript [00:00] The NATO of the future must include a great focus [00:05] on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats [00:09] from Russia and on NATO's eastern and [00:14] southern borders. These grave security concerns [00:19] are the same reason that I have been Very, very direct [00:24] with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the alliance [00:29] in saying that NATO members must finally contribute [00:33] their fair share and meet their financial [00:37] obligations. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:40] But 23 of the 28 member nations Are still [00:44] not paying what they should be paying and what they [00:47] are supposed to be paying for their defence. This [00:52] is not fair to the people and tax payers of the United [00:55] States, and many of these nations owe massive [00:59] amounts of money from past years. And not paying in [01:04] those past years. 2 % is the bare minimum for [01:08] confronting today's very real, and [01:13] very vicious threats. If NATO Countries [01:18] made their full and complete contributions. then NATO [01:23] would be even stronger than it is today. Especially [01:27] from the threat of terrorism. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4797972/dusko-markovic-montenegro-nato-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4797972/dusko-markovic-montenegro-nato-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Montenegro PM: Trump's Shove Was a 'Harmless Situation' That Doesn't Affect Our Friendship","datePublished":"2017-05-30T16:24:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:16.917Z","description":"The media was obsessed by my insignificant brush with President Trump, the Montenegrin leader writes. 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