The HAAG: US President Donald Trump swept into NATO’s Hague Top Meeting on Tuesday, with allies in the hope that a promise to increase defense spending will keep the unpredictable leader of the military superpower obliged to protect them.
Trump joined the leaders of NATO’s 31 other members to begin the two-day collection with a dinner hosted by the Dutch king Willem-Alexander in the ornate Orange Hall in his royal residence.
The alliance hopes to keep Trump tied to his mutual defense boost by meeting his demand for a headline of five percent of GDP on defense expenses.
But Trump refused to say that he was obliged to NATO’s Article Five Clause and Protected Europe, in comments that are likely to rattle his colleagues on the continent.
“Depends on your definition. There are several definitions of Article five,” Trump told journalists aboard the Air Force One. “I’m obliged to be their friend.”
To keep Trump on board, NATO members have wiped out a compromise agreement to dedicate 3.5 percent to the basic military needs of 2035 and 1.5 percent to wider security-related areas such as cyber security and infrastructure.
NATO says the military structure is crucial to deterring Russia, which officials warn quickly rebuild its forces, which is depleted by the war in Ukraine and could be ready to attack the alliance in five years.
But it is equally important to keep Trump engaged as Washington warns that it can change forces from Europe to meet the threat from China.
“They raise it to five percent, that’s good,” Trump said. “It gives them much more power.”
While the promise of more spending could win Trump over, deep departments remain over the approach to Europe’s most important security issues: Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump said he was likely to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymy Zelensky while in the Hague, with Kiev in the hope of avoiding a repeat of the couple’s notorious oval office bust-up.
‘Radical uncertainty’
The Europe Commission Head of Ursula von der Leyen told an audience in The Hague that NATO’s “historic” spending boosts showed that “Defense Europe is finally awakened”.
Alliance leaders meanwhile – many of whom are struggling to find the money that would be required – arose to claim that the threats facing the continent demanded bold steps.
“We have to navigate this era with radical uncertainty with agility,” said British Prime Minister Keir Stormer, announcing Britain’s obligation to meet the target.
On Wednesday, storms will formally announce that his country is buying a dozen F-35A warriors capable of carrying nuclear weapons to support NATO’s Nuclear Mission.
The purchase marks an extension of Britain’s nuclear deterrence, which is currently limited to submarine -launched missiles.
A statement late Tuesday from Stormer’s office quoted Rutte to say, “I am very welcome to today’s message,” called it “another robust British contribution to NATO”.
Separately announced Powerhouse Germany plans to hit figures of 3.5 percent for core defense needs in 2029-six years prior to the plan.
At the other end of the scale, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has risked Trump’s Ire by insisting that his country does not have to meet the five percent goal.
To his part, the Kremlin attacked NATO for his “violent militarization” in which spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “This is the reality that surrounds us.”
Trump-Zelensky meeting
Since storming back to power, Trump has terminated the West’s approach to the three -year conflict by turning his back towards Kiev and opening the door to closer ties with Moscow.
Zelensky was set to play less of a central role than on recent NATO collections and will not participate in the most important work session.
But Ukraine’s president said he would discuss with Trump purchase of a pack of weapons, mainly air defense.
Zelensky will also push Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia as Moscow has stopped the peace efforts supported by Washington, Kyiv said.
“There is no evidence that Putin wants to stop this war. Russia rejects all peace proposals including those from the United States. Putin is only thinking of war,” the Ukrainian leader told a defense forum held next to the summit.
Trump met briefly on the sidelines at the summit late on Tuesday with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called on “close dialogue” to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Rutte said that allies would send the message that support for Kyiv was “unwavering and would continue”.
But despite his insistence on the fact that Ukraine’s bid for membership remains “irreversible,” NATO will avoid any mention of Kyiv’s push to participate after Trump excluded it.
