Trump lashes out at NATO as first day of summit wraps in Turkiye

Leaders have gathered in Ankara for a two-day summit slated to cover defence spending and the Russia-Ukraine war.

United States President Donald Trump has declared he is “very disappointed with NATO” on the first day of a summit of leaders of the mutual defence alliance in Turkiye that exposed tensions over European defence spending, the Russia-Ukraine war and the future of Greenland.

Trump arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for the summit along with other NATO leaders. The main session will be on Wednesday.

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The summit comes at a fragile time for the 77-year-old alliance, which has seen Trump sow discord over Iran, Greenland and Washington’s commitment to protecting fellow members.

After criticising NATO allies during a news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said that if the summit “weren’t held in Turkiye, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended”.

Trump also named European allies who he perceived as unsupportive during the US-Israel war on Iran, saying, “We weren’t treated well because we did something in Iran.”

“Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars when they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them,” he said.

“Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down.”

Trump has also ramped up pressure on European members to increase their defence budgets.

Just five NATO members are projected to meet the alliance’s goal of spending 3.5 percent of their gross domestic product on core defence in 2026, according to updated NATO data published before the summit.

The data showed some members are still expected to spend only about 2 percent.

‘Not for sale’

The US president also reignited tensions over Greenland, saying the territory “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark”.

For months, Trump has insisted that taking control of the autonomous Danish territory was crucial to US security.

Danish ⁠Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the summit she expects allies ⁠to respect Denmark’s sovereignty and accept that Greenland is ‌not for sale.

Russia-Ukraine war

Also on the summit’s agenda is NATO’s military support for Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the alliance to step up aid for the country’s air defences.

Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the NATO gathering and is expected to meet Zelenskyy on the summit sidelines on Wednesday.

Asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump said he hoped it would be settled “soon”.

“I think they both want to make a deal,” Trump said. “It’s too bad it took so long, but I think something’s going to come out.”

Norway says it would provide three billion Norwegian crowns ($306.2m) for Ukraine’s air defence, specifically to protect against ballistic missiles, while Europe and Canada are expected to pledge to keep military support flowing to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 at the summit.

Zelenskyy, for his part, has renewed his call for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance.

“Do you really believe it would be right to leave outside NATO a country and a people with this level of defensive capability?” the Ukrainian president said.