Stop slacking, allies.
Ever since his first US presidential mandate, Donald J. Trump has been pressuring NATO allies to step up defense spending and to take a greater role in their own defense.
But, by now, after the military confrontation against Iran, a secondary complaint has been at the forefront of the US relationship with the alliance: not only did countries like the UK and Italy refuse to aid the American forces in the confrontation, but they wouldn’t even allow the US to utilize the airfields during missions.
This has led to much talk about American forces’ withdrawal in Europe, as well as cutbacks in military assets of all kinds: missiles, fighter planes, etc.
Next week (July 7 and 8), NATO leaders will gather in Ankara, Turkey, where Europeans will try to win over Trump after Iran and Greenland tensions, and show they are stepping up to defend the continent.
The security of one billion people on both sides of the Atlantic depends on us investing more and better in the forces and capabilities we need to maintain credible deterrence and defence.
Learn more about the #NATOsummit → https://t.co/TtycCcV1tU pic.twitter.com/C0wtelxuWn
— NATO (@NATO) July 3, 2026
Reuters reported:
“NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says the gathering next Tuesday and Wednesday will show Europeans are honoring pledges to hike defense spending, […] with arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars to be signed.
[…] European officials say they hope Trump’s strong relationships with Erdogan and Rutte will ensure a smooth summit but cannot be sure, given lingering transatlantic bitterness over the Iran war and the U.S. president’s frequent criticism of NATO.”
“’NATO is, and will always be, a transatlantic alliance but we need to rebalance it for the better’, [Rutte said]. ‘Working closely with the United States, European allies and Canada are taking greater responsibility for conventional defense in Europe’.
Rutte said last month that NATO’s European members and Canada spent $90 billion more on defense in 2025 than in the previous year, to reach a total of more than $570 billion.”
‘POTUS expects allies to STEP UP commitments’ — Matthew Whittaker, US Ambassador to NATO
‘Our strength is based on allies standing with us politically & militarily’
NATO Summit coming up in Ankara on July 7 pic.twitter.com/fPQRbxXobl
— RT (@RT_com) July 3, 2026
Read more:
US To Withdraw a THIRD of NATO Fighter Jets, Other Deep Strike Capabilities From Europe: REPORT
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