NATO allies put on a united front as they prepare to meet Trump
President Donald Trump is meeting with NATO leaders in Türkiye on Wednesday as the alliance faces increasing challenges from both external threats and internal divisions.
Trump has repeatedly voiced his displeasure with NATO since returning to the White House last year, pushing member states to spend more on defense and more recently berating NATO allies for refusing to join America’s military campaign in Iran.
At a summit in Ankara on Wednesday morning, Trump made harsh remarks, including that he was “doing nothing” with NATO member Spain, which has not committed to the alliance’s new target of spending 5 percent of GDP by 2035.
“Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” he said at a press conference in Ankara with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Trump also reignited inter-alliance tensions when he reasserted his desire to seize control of Greenland, territory of NATO member Denmark.
Earlier, Rutte had told reporters that greater cohesion among member states, higher defense spending and a number of military agreements signed at the event were signs of the emergence of “NATO 3.0”.
Despite Trump’s new pressure for the US to take Greenland, Rutte insisted that Washington remain committed to the NATO alliance.
“The United States has a full commitment to NATO… there is no doubt that this commitment exists,” Rutte told reporters as he arrived at the NATO summit on Wednesday morning. “Also, NATO is in the US’s interest to prevent, for example, Russian nuclear submarines from landing on US shores. The US needs a secure Atlantic, Europe and the Arctic to stay safe, so there is a full commitment to NATO.”
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) listens to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speak during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2026.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Rutte added that the alliance’s commitment last year to spend 5 percent of its members’ national gross domestic product on defense was a “big win” for all members and a loss for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I expect today to be collectively recognized once again that Russia is a long-term threat to NATO territory,” he said ahead of talks between the allies.
Asked if he had a message for Putin, Rutte replied: “Don’t make fun of us.”
“My message is that this alliance of 1 billion people living in Europe, living in Canada, living in the United States, this alliance will defend every square centimeter of our land,” he said. “You can’t win [against] NATO. We are on defense. We will never attack anyone. We will only defend our way of life, our democracy, our land. So don’t make fun of us, don’t play with us.”
NATO has been heavily involved in providing military assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale war in the country in early 2022. Parts of the alliance’s eastern flank (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania) share borders with Ukraine.
Moscow strongly opposes Ukraine joining NATO and claims that the military alliance’s expansion in Eastern Europe is a reason for launching a so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.
