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ANKARA, Turkey — America’s NATO allies had hoped President Donald Trump would arrive in Turkey’s capital in a dealmaking mood. Instead he came out swinging, leaving allies once again guessing at his commitment to their defense.
Trump revived a host of grievances against NATO within hours of landing. He said what happens in Ukraine doesn’t affect Washington and repeated his assertions that Greenland should be controlled by the United States.
NATO allies announced billions in new weapons deals and laid out plans for increased spending. And across the grounds of the Bestepe Presidential Compound, many attendees were hanging on to hope that the outcome of the summit could still be positive — but frustrated that the mood had soured so quickly.
“We’re all doing exactly what the Americans demanded and what we have to do for our own security,” a NATO diplomat said. “But a morning of big new defense spending is now overshadowed by complaints over Greenland.”
Allies were especially surprised given Trump’s aides had said ahead of the summit that the U.S. was looking for a constructive two days.
“He’s already taken us off a unifying positive objective,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D.-Del.) “It is so often the case that the president provides his own counter-programming to his own administration.”
NATO’s members have made considerable effort to keep this week’s summit low-key, hoping like last year , that Trump will leave striking a positive tone and without causing any lasting damage to the alliance.
A number of attendees at the meeting of the 32-member alliance worried that Trump’s sour mood would carry over into Wednesday, when they are looking for him to clarify Washington’s intentions for troop pullbacks in Europe, voice support for Ukraine at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and hold a news conference before he returns to Washington.
Even if Trump’s comments cast a shadow over the proceedings, his grievances and posturing are not a surprise, said a former NATO official, who like others, was granted anonymity to to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
“It’s all priced in by this point. Everyone expects it,” the official said.
Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen said her country’s position on Greenland hasn’t changed, even as Trump has continued to advocate for American control of the strategic territory.
“I hope it is just as well known that the position of the Kingdom of Denmark is that this is not going to happen,” she said, adding that Denmark wants to expand its cooperation with the U.S. in the Arctic.
Allies are hoping this year’s summit will be successful like last year’s, a second former NATO official said.
Last year after a combination of charm and flattery from Rutte, an alliance commitment to 5 percent defense spending and a similarly short program, Trump went home declaring the summit a win.
The former official noted that in Trump’s first term, the second NATO summit he attended was the toughest. Trump berated Germany as “captive” to Russia in that meeting, escalated his spending demand to 4 percent, and privately warned allies he’d “go it alone” if they didn’t pay up. Then he went to Helsinki and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Is the same happening?” the former official said. “Everyone will try to bury it/ignore it because the priority is to avoid tensions and let it pass.”
The NATO leaders’ statement is longer than last year’s but still shorter than the summits of years past. A draft viewed by POLITICO contains only six points. The participants, including Trump, reaffirmed their commitment to the Article 5 mutual defense pact and agreed that Russia poses a long-term threat to NATO’s members. It also states that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
Some attendees focused on the bright spots. Even if Trump threw out early punches on Tuesday evening, his mere presence sends a strong positive signal, said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a former NATO official and Lithuanian parliamentarian.
“The bigger message of reassurance is a simple fact that President Trump is in Ankara for the leaders’ summit,” Jeglinskas said. “There is a positive momentum in Ukraine, which received Trump’s nod. The summit declaration is short and sweet and, importantly, touches on all the right themes.”
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