Germany must do more, we cannot ensure the defense of the West if our allies grow dependent on the Russia, US Vice President Pence said in a statement.

“It is simply unacceptable for Europe’s largest economy to continue to ignore the threat of Russian aggression and neglect its own self-defense and our common defense at such a level.  And it’s also wrong for Germany to allow itself to become energy dependent on Russia,” he said.

The US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that few NATO allies achieve the goal set by the alliance in 2014 - to allocate two percent of GDP for defense.

The United States is also dissatisfied with Germany’s intentions over the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.

“If Germany persists in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as President Trump has said, it could turn Germany’s economy into literally a “captive of Russia,” he said.

Later, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that sharing the burden is not only spending, as NATO is above all a “union of values”.