Trump 'very disappointed' with allies, NATO showcases big arms deals

NATO leaders unveiled arms deals worth tens ⁠of billions of dollars in Türkiye on Tuesday, driving home the message that they are heeding US calls to spend more to defend Europe even as President Donald Trump said he felt let down and renewed his push to control Greenland.

Leaders were convening for a summit in Ankara, hoping to project unity after another bruising year, in which the US strikes on Iran once ‌again exposed cracks in the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War ‌Two.

In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he might have boycotted the NATO summit altogether ‌had it not been for his warm relations with the Turkish leader, and did not rule out further troop withdrawals from Europe.

"Well, we're going to see. I was very disappointed with NATO," ‌he said, singling out Britain, France, Germany and Italy for not doing enough to support the US strikes on Iran.

Trump added that "we weren't treated well" by the allies, even as he reiterated that he did not want or need their help.

Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the summit about ending the conflict that started in February 2022.

Trump renews Greenland claim

Trump also renewed his push to ⁠wrest Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark.

"That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," he said. "That's what hurt my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn't help Denmark. Denmark doesn't spend money to really help Greenland, but it's an important part for the United States."

Speaking at the summit, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected allies to respect her country's sovereignty and accept that Greenland is not for sale.

Tensions within NATO, ‌already strained over Ukraine and Trump's desire to take control of Greenland from Denmark, have deepened since the US attacked Iran in February.

Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for insufficient support in ‌the conflict, threatening to quit the alliance.

European officials insist they largely honored commitments to let the US use their airspace and bases, despite not having been consulted about a deeply unpopular ⁠war that roiled their economies.

The US has also announced troop withdrawals from Europe and launched a six-month review of its military presence there.

European officials had said they were braced for a repeat of some of Trump's recent criticism and could not be sure of a positive outcome, in part due to Trump's volatile relationship with some leaders, most recently seen in a feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Ukraine pushes for more aid

Zelenskyy on Tuesday urged NATO to ramp up air defense assistance for Ukraine, which he said was the country's top priority.

He added that while Ukraine is capable of handling most of its defense missions independently, it still needs stronger resolve and tangible support from partners to shore up its air defense capabilities.

The Ukrainian leader also confirmed that Kyiv has held preliminary discussions with the US over securing production licensing for Patriot air defense systems.

He added that he will hold talks with Trump on Wednesday, covering a wide range of security topics centered on the Patriot system and other key defense cooperation issues.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia will closely monitor Washington's official stance on Ukraine following the NATO summit, China Media Group (CMG) reported, citing Russian sources.

Ryabkov accused what he called "forces hindering political settlement and pro-war factions inside Europe" of trying to derail peace talks on Ukraine, which he said are based on proposals put forward during the US-Russia presidential talks in Anchorage last August.

NATO said before the summit that it aims to pledge roughly $80 billion in military aid for Ukraine in 2026, followed by at least the same level of support in 2027, a commitment meant to be contained in a final summit declaration.

Slovakia has announced that it would not participate in the funding effort, insisting that peace in Ukraine must be a precondition for its European Union membership, a position that underscores persistent divisions within the NATO alliance over how to sustain support for Kyiv.

NATO chief wants defense industry 'revolution'

NATO members have repeatedly tried to show Trump that ‌they are stepping up. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday Europeans had made "staggering" increases in defense spending.

Before Trump's arrival, Rutte trumpeted a series of initiatives and deals at a defense industry forum, and called for a defense industry "revolution" across the ​alliance.

The deals, estimated to be worth at least $50 billion according to one NATO official, included European countries buying surveillance drones from US company Northrop Grumman, and NATO allies buying planes from Sweden's Saab.

Europe's defense sector has often been criticized as fragmented and saddled with red tape and rivalries between companies and countries. That has left Europe more ​reliant on purchases of US weapons. Weak economic growth and the need to ​maintain generous state welfare provisions have also made defense spending a tougher sell in Europe.

The Ankara summit holds particular significance against the backdrop of mounting US pressure on European allies to assume greater responsibility for their own defense.

A key agenda expected at the summit is how to implement the agreement reached at last year's NATO summit in The Hague, where members states committed to increasing defense-related expenditure to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035.

Analyst: NATO seeks to placate, but US pressure persists

The NATO secretary general's renewed calls for higher defense spending ahead of the alliance's summit was a move largely aimed at appeasing the United States, said Cui Hongjian, director of the Center for European Union and Regional Development Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Noting that the extent to which Washington will continue to uphold its security commitments to Europe has become a major concern for NATO in recent years, Cui told CMG that, by making moves that align with US strategic adjustments, it hopes to project internal unity at the Ankara summit.

Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he noted, the sense of crisis within NATO has intensified. A key focus of the summit is how to swiftly translate increased military expenditures into tangible capability-building, he added.

Cui said that European NATO members remain deeply divided over systematic defense capacity building, with disagreements lingering over funding sources, investment priorities and expected outcomes.

While all member states intend to strengthen their national defense capabilities, they face widespread dilemmas amid constrained fiscal budgets, he noted.

Looking ahead, Cui said that the United States will continue to act as a key pressure driver within NATO. Washington's ultimate goal is to dominate European security affairs while reaping strategic benefits across the global geopolitical landscape, he added.

(With input from agencies)