Trump will attend the NATO summit in Turkey in July, Marco Rubio says
While American presidents almost always attend NATO summits, given that Washington is the leader of the alliance, questions have been raised about Trump’s attendance this year as Trump has repeatedly expressed anger at NATO for its reluctance to assist the United States in the war in Iran.
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Speaking at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Rubio touched on Trump’s frustrations and said his main irritation was that some members did not allow the United States to use military bases in these countries at a time of crisis.
Rubio told lawmakers that Trump would continue to attend despite his disappointment with the alliance.
Rubio said, “The United States is still in the NATO alliance and we will be in Türkiye to talk about all these issues. The president himself will attend the next meeting of NATO heads of state, where all these points will be clarified.” he said.
Many NATO countries have resisted supporting U.S. military action against Iran by refusing to allow U.S. military aircraft to use their airspace or to send naval forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz for energy tankers.Also read: US allies call for more unity as Trump era clouds global security
European leaders have refused to directly participate in US-Israeli military operations against Iran; They fear being drawn into an unpredictable conflict whose aims they do not fully understand and whose aims are unwelcome among their own citizens. Trump has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” and threatened to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance earlier this year, arguing that Washington’s European allies relied on US security guarantees while providing insufficient support for the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.
“I think the next NATO meeting in Türkiye in July will probably be the most important meeting in NATO history, because there are some things that need to be clarified and fixed,” Rubio said.
The frequency of NATO summits has varied throughout the alliance’s 77-year history, but its leaders have met every summer since 2021 and will meet in the Turkish capital Ankara on July 7 and 8 this year.
Reuters reported in late April that the alliance was considering ending its recent practice of holding annual summits in the future, in part to help avoid a potentially tense confrontation with Trump in his final year in office in 2028.
