Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan escorts U.S. President Donald Trump as Trump arrives for the annual NATO Summit on Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey.Win McNamee/Getty Images
NATO leaders unveiled arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Turkey on Tuesday, driving home the message that they are heeding U.S. calls to spend more to defend Europe even as President Donald Trump said he felt let down.
Leaders were convening for a summit in the capital Ankara, hoping to project unity after another bruising year, in which the Iran war once again exposed cracks in the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War Two.
In a meeting with President 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 U.S. war 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.
“Before I asked, they said they wouldn’t be there, and we’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO,” Trump said.
Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the summit about ending the war that started in February, 2022 when Russia invaded its neighbour.
“I think they both want to make a deal. It’s too bad it took so long ... Something’s going to come out,” he said.
While sharply criticizing longstanding allies, Trump announced Washington would lift sanctions on Turkey that were imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian air defence missiles. He also expressed a willingness to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets.
The move would be a major gesture to Erdogan and remove a longstanding irritant in bilateral ties.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during the High Level Defence announcements at the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum, on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' Summit in Ankara.Yves Herman/Reuters
Rutte wants defence industry revolution
NATO members have repeatedly tried to show Trump that they are stepping up to the plate.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday Europeans had made “staggering” increases in defence spending.
Before Trump’s arrival, Rutte trumpeted a series of initiatives and deals at a defence industry forum, and called for a defence industry “revolution” across the alliance, warning over Russia’s massive military spending as well as China, North Korea and Iran.
“We don’t have the luxury of time. We need capabilities now to ensure we remain ready. The security situation demands it,” Rutte said. “The hum of machinery must become a roar.”
The deals, estimated to be worth at least US$50-billion according to one NATO official, included European countries buying surveillance drones from U.S. company Northrop Grumman, and NATO buying planes from Sweden’s Saab.
Saab shares at one point rose more than 5 per cent as investors bet on the company benefiting from European rearmament. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock.
Europe’s defence 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 U.S. weapons.
Weak economic growth and the need to maintain generous state welfare provisions have also made defence spending a tougher sell in Europe.
Opinion: Why NATO needs to build a defence market
Iran war prompted Trump to revive criticism of NATO
Tensions within NATO, already strained over Ukraine and Trump’s desire to wrest Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, have deepened since the U.S. 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 honoured commitments to let the U.S. use their airspace and bases, despite not having been consulted about a deeply unpopular war that roiled their economies.
The U.S. 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 cannot 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.
NATO members are expected to reaffirm support for Ukraine, with Zelensky urgently calling for more air defence supplies.
Underscoring the stakes, Russia hammered the Kyiv region with missiles and drones on Monday, killing at least 28 people and exposing Ukraine’s critical shortage of U.S.-made air-defence interceptors.