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Trump and NATO in Ankara
At a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly threatened to cut trade ties with Spain, renewed claims on Greenland, and lashed out at allies over their response to his war on Iran before later recommitting to the alliance and saying there was "a lot of love" and unity among its 32 leaders.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters that disputes between Trump and other NATO leaders showed the alliance's democratic strength and said, "They knew what they got when they hired me, and I'm who I am," after the summit.
Rutte also said he saw no need to change the way he deals with Trump, and he framed the episode for Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying, "I would say to Putin: You should have some more discussions yourself, out in the open."
The summit ended with NATO leaders reaffirming their "ironclad commitment" to the mutual assistance clause in Article 5, as Trump backed down from earlier public fury and offered allies an "unexpected warm embrace" in the Turkish capital.
Quotes, tone shifts, and splits
Trump’s tone shifted sharply between public and closed-door remarks, with a source inside the session telling AFP that he reassured counterparts he wanted the US to stay in the military alliance, saying, "We want to remain with you".
After the closed-door meeting of 32 leaders in Ankara, Trump told reporters, "It was amazing, actually. The unity in that room was incredible, really a love, it was sort of pretty wild," as the summit wrapped up on an unexpectedly warm note.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told AFP that Trump moderated his tone in the session and gave a "kind of constructive message ... that Europe must step up, invest more in defence," while Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said, "I wouldn't see in it an indicator that we are somehow weakening NATO, and that the transatlantic bond is not there."
The same summit coverage also recorded Trump’s earlier anger, including his claim that he was "very upset with NATO" over what he said they did with Greenland and over their failure to help with Iran.
Ukraine, spending, and next steps
Beyond the tone at the summit, NATO leaders and Trump focused on Ukraine and defence commitments, with the final declaration reflecting an "ironclad commitment" to Article 5 while Europe and Canada pledged to keep military support flowing to Ukraine to the tune of 70 billion euros ($80 billion) a year in both 2026 and 2027.
Trump also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that "We’re going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right," as the coverage linked the move to supplies of crucial US-made Patriot interceptors running low.
The Straits Times reported that NATO allies increased defence spending by 11% in 2026 and unveiled new arms contracts to show commitment, while Trump praised Turkey's leader Erdogan and considered easing sanctions.
In parallel, Reuters reported that NATO identifies Russia as the biggest threat to the security of its members and said members have boosted defence spending by hundreds of billions of dollars since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, placing the summit’s unity and spending pledges in the context of deterrence.
