NATO Leaders Meet in Ankara: Will They Meet Trump’s Demand for Loyalty?

"Thanks to the leader of the free world, President Donald Trump, over $1 trillion in defense spending has been generated in Europe and Canada."

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), visited the White House on June 24 to meet with President Trump, bringing a chart with him.

The chart quantified how sincerely NATO member states have responded to President Trump's demands for increased defense spending.

Emphasizing that member states have spent $1.2 trillion on defense since 2017, the first year of President Trump's first term, he even used the term "Trump Trillion," combining the President's name with the word "trillion."

There is a reason why Secretary General Rutte, who faced a barrage of criticism for "humiliating flattery" a year ago after comparing President Trump to a "father" at a NATO summit, continues to use such sycophantic expressions in public.

It is because the NATO summit is scheduled to be held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, for two days starting July 7.

In effect, he is taking preemptive measures to prevent the NATO summit from falling into disarray by appeasing President Trump, despite internal criticism that he is being too submissive to the United States.

However, President Trump's reaction was cold.

In front of reporters and Secretary General Rutte, he said, "I just want their loyalty. We don't need their money."

He was once again expressing his frustration that the United States did not receive cooperation from Europe during the Iran war.

It was effectively a preview of President Trump's stance heading into the NATO summit.

For President Trump, who has been pressuring NATO member states to increase defense spending, the only way to prove their loyalty inevitably boils down to "cost-sharing."

In a recent report, the U.S. political media outlet Politico stated that multi-billion dollar arms deals and additional production agreements are expected to be reached at this NATO summit.

This is a way to soothe President Trump's dissatisfaction by designing these deals in a direction favorable to the United States.

Politico pointed out, "By promising new defense deals that benefit the U.S., Secretary General Rutte may be able to create an economic logic that can resonate with President Trump."

Regarding the war in Ukraine, a primary concern for Europe, the summit is expected to reach an agreement on providing 70 billion euros ($76.5 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, but Politico reported that the United States is not expected to participate.

During President Trump's first term, a NATO summit once ended by exposing the widening cracks within the Atlantic alliance amid his explicit demands for increased defense spending.

When the summit was held in London, U.K., in 2018, a video of then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "gossiping" about President Trump went viral, and an angry President Trump canceled his press conference and returned home.

This time, there is significant concern that the pressure from the Trump administration is even more severe, and the summit itself will be held under high tension that puts the Atlantic alliance to the test.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced at a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18 that he would review the U.S. military presence in Europe over the next six months.

He signaled an adjustment of U.S. troops stationed in Europe, strongly pressuring each country to take on additional defense burdens.

He also warned that if member states do not keep their promises to increase defense spending, the United States would withhold a portion of its NATO contributions.

Shortly after President Trump announced in late April that he was considering reducing U.S. troops in Germany, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a reduction of 5,000 troops.

A few days later, President Trump raised the level of his offensive, stating that the scale of the reduction would be far greater than 5,000.

Although the Iran war has temporarily shifted attention away from the issue, the fact that President Trump has not abandoned his desire to take control of Greenland remains a burden for NATO leaders.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.