U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. commitment to NATO "remains very strong" despite reports that he threated to pull out in a dispute over defense spending.
Trump says at a news conference Thursday in Brussels that he told "people" that he would be "very unhappy" if they didn't increase their commitments.
Trump says the U.S. has been paying "probably 90 percent of the costs of NATO."
Trump adds that he was "extremely unhappy with what was happening and they have substantially upped their commitment."
NATO had no immediate comment.
Trump once declared NATO "obsolete." He says Thursday: "I believe in NATO."
TRUMP SAYS US PULLOUT FROM NATO 'UNNECESSARY'
Trump says he probably can withdraw the U.S. from NATO but that such a step is "unnecessary."
Published reports Thursday said Trump had threatened during the NATO summit in Brussels to pull the U.S. out of the military alliance in a dispute over defense spending.
Trump says at a news conference that he was "extremely unhappy" with the situation, but that alliance members have upped their commitment in response to his complaints.
Asked whether he's still threatening to pull out of NATO and whether he can do so without buy-in from Congress, Trump said: "I think I probably can but that's unnecessary."
