Trump criticizes NATO as the first day of the meeting in Turkey Political Affairs

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he was “very disappointed with NATO” on the first day of the meeting of the leaders of the defense alliance in Turkey, which revealed conflicts on the use of defense in Europe, 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.

Recommended Articles

list of 4 itemsend of series

The meeting comes at a critical time for the 77-year-old deal, which has seen Trump raise tensions over Iran, Greenland and Washington’s commitment to protect fellow members.

After criticizing NATO allies during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said that if the meeting “hadn’t been held in Turkey, where my friend is a very powerful leader, a very powerful person, I probably wouldn’t have been there”.

Trump also singled out European countries that he saw as unhelpful in the US-Israeli war against Iran, saying, “We were not treated well because we did something to Iran.”

He said: “Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars when there is no one to help us?

“Italy rejected us, and Germany rejected us, and France rejected us.”

The US president took a close look at Ankara, referring to the “chemistry” between the US and Turkey, promising to lift the sanctions and saying that he would do it. soon choose about the sale of F-35s.

“We have a very good relationship,” he said.

Security costs

At the top of NATO’s agenda this year is the promise of members – among other things influenced by pressure from Trump – to increase their defense spending.

But only five NATO members are expected to meet the alliance’s goal of spending 3.5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2026, according to NATO’s updated pre-conference plan.

That figure comes from the agreement held in The Hague last year, which increased the target of spending on major items, such as weapons and the military, from the previous 2 percent.

Members also pledged to spend 1.5 percent of GDP on a number of security-related initiatives, such as strengthening cyber security.

On the eve of the Ankara meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte he asked The “clear, reasonable and reliable intentions” of using the defense while insisting on the evidence so far “is impressive”.

Giving an address at a meeting of the defense industry on Tuesday, Rutte spoke about the threats from China, North Korea and Iran – including Russia, whose defense industry is “working all the time” to give war to Ukraine.

“We have to be vigilant,” Rutte said. “These countries are working together.”

Another expert, Alexandru Hudisteanu, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s “aggressive” strategy is to “wake up Europeans” to spend more.

However, NATO data shows that some members are still expected to spend around 2 percent of GDP.

‘It’s not for sale’

The US president has also sparked controversy in Greenland, telling reporters that “this region should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark”.

Trump is he insisted for many months that control of the autonomous region of Denmark was important to US security, which caused conflicts with Copenhagen and the rest of Europe.

Speaking in Ankara after Trump’s speech, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she hoped her allies would respect Denmark’s sovereignty and accept that Greenland is not for sale.

“It is well known that the United States wants to occupy and occupy Greenland. I hope it is well known everywhere that this will not happen,” said Frederiksen.

There are no plans to discuss Greenland, the Arctic or the High North at the meeting, he added.

Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mute Egede, wrote on Facebook that the future of Greenland must be decided by its people.

“This is how it’s always been,” he said. “And that’s how it’s always going to be.”

Russia-Ukraine war

NATO is expected to pledge more military aid to Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urging the alliance to help support the country’s air defense following death rate Russian invasion of Kyiv.

Zelenskyy – who has resumed calls for Ukraine to be allowed to join the bloc – posted on Facebook on Tuesday that he signed new agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark in Ankara.

The agreement creates “new opportunities for joint production, advancement of defense technologies, systematic exchange, and delivery of decisive solutions to the war in Ukraine”, he said.

Other agreements are expected with Germany, Norway, Finland and Canada.

Norway said it would donate three billion Norwegian kroner ($306.2m) to Ukraine’s defense system, especially to protect it from missiles, while Europe and Canada are expected to pledge military support to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 at the summit.

Trump is expected to meet with Zelenskyy at the summit on Wednesday, after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the NATO summit.

When asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump said he hoped it would be resolved “soon”.

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