NATO showcases big arms deals as Trump feels let down
Tuvan Gümrükçü, Humeyra Pamuk and Sabine Siebold
ANKARA, July 7 (Reuters) – NATO leaders announced arms deals with Turkey worth tens of billions of dollars on Tuesday, sending a message that they are heeding calls for the United States to spend more to defend Europe even as President Donald Trump said he was disappointed and renewed his push to control Greenland.
Leaders were meeting for a summit in the capital Ankara, hoping to achieve unity after a painful year in which the Iran war once again exposed cracks in the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War II.
In his meeting with President Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump said that he could boycott the NATO summit completely if he did not have warm relations with the Turkish leader, and did not rule out the possibility of withdrawing more troops from Europe.
“Well, we’ll see. I’m very disappointed in NATO,” he said, singling out Britain, France, Germany and Italy for not doing enough to support the US war against Iran.
Trump added that “we weren’t treated well” by the allies, although he reiterated that he didn’t want or need their help.
“Before I asked, they said they wouldn’t be there, and we invested trillions of dollars in NATO,” Trump said.
Before the summit, Trump said that he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about ending the war that started in February 2022 when Russia invaded its neighbor.
“I think they both want to make a deal. Too bad it took this long… Something will come up,” Trump said.
While harshly criticizing his long-standing allies, Trump announced that Washington would lift sanctions imposed on Türkiye in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian air defense missiles. He also expressed his desire to sell F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye.
This move will be a great gesture to Erdogan and will eliminate long-standing discomforts in bilateral relations.
RUTTE WANTS DEFENSE INDUSTRY REVOLUTION
NATO members have repeatedly tried to show Trump that they are making progress.
Europeans have made “staggering” increases in defense spending, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday.
Before Trump’s arrival, Rutte touted a series of initiatives and agreements at a defense industry forum, calling for an alliance-wide defense industry “revolution” and warning of massive military spending by Russia, as well as China, North Korea and Iran.
Rutte said, “We do not have the luxury of time. We need capabilities now that will enable us to remain ready. The security situation demands this.” he said. “The hum of the machines must turn into a roar.”
The deals, estimated to be worth at least $50 billion, according to a NATO official, include European countries buying surveillance aircraft from US company Northrop Grumman and NATO buying aircraft from Sweden’s Saab.
Saab shares rose more than 5% at one point as investors bet the company would benefit from rearmament in Europe. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock.
Separately, the British government said in a statement that 12 European countries, including Britain, France and Germany, will spend more than $50 billion over the next 10 years to develop long-range precision weapons that will strengthen NATO’s defense capabilities.
Starmer will unveil the UK-led initiative in Ankara on Wednesday, and the countries are set to release a joint statement with additional details.
Europe’s defense sector has often been criticized as fragmented, rife with bureaucratic processes and competition between companies and countries. This made Europe more dependent on US arms purchases.
Weak economic growth and the need to maintain generous state welfare provisions have also made defense spending a harder sell in Europe.
THE IRAN WAR INFLUENCED TRUMP TO RENEW CRITICISM OF NATO
Tensions within NATO, already tense over Ukraine and Trump’s desire to seize Greenland from NATO member Denmark, have deepened since the US attacked Iran in February. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for inadequate support in the conflict and threatened to leave the alliance.
On Tuesday, it renewed its effort to seize Greenland from Denmark.
“This should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark,” he said.
“That’s what damaged my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t really spend money to help Greenland, but that’s an important part for the United States.”
Speaking at the summit, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected her allies to respect her country’s sovereignty and accept that Greenland is not for sale.
European officials insist they have largely fulfilled their commitment to allow the United States to use their airspace and bases, even though they were not consulted about an unpopular war that has shaken their economies.
The United States also announced it would withdraw troops from Europe and launched a six-month review of its military presence there.
European officials had said they were prepared for a repeat of some of Trump’s recent criticisms and could not be confident of a positive outcome, in part because of Trump’s unstable relations with some leaders; This situation was last seen in the fight with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
While NATO members are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, Zelenskiy is urgently calling for more air defense equipment.
Underscoring the risk, Russia struck the Kiev region with missiles and drones on Monday, killing at least 28 people and exposing Ukraine’s critical shortage of US-made air defense missiles.
($1 = 0.8752 euros)
(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Tuvan Gümrükçü, Hüseyin Hayatsever, Humeyra Pamuk, Sabine Siebold, John Irish and Lili Bayer; Written by Andrew Gray and Matthias Williams; Edited by Sharon Singleton and Andrei Khalip)
