Trump hails NATO summit as ‘great'
US President Donald Trump has called NATO's recent summit in The Hague 'great.' Numerous media reports had previously claimed the two-day event was almost solely focused on pleasing the American leader.
'A wonderful day with incredible and caring Leaders,' Trump wrote Truth Social on Thursday, pointing to the NATO members' latest commitment to hike defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035. He also claimed the meeting earlier this week was 'the most unified and productive in history.'
However, not all NATO members agreed to the defense spending hike demanded by Trump. Spain reached a deal with the bloc just days before the summit that excluded it from the 5% target, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He had earlier branded Trump's demand 'not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.'
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also said on Tuesday that his nation 'is capable of meeting NATO's requirements even without a substantial increase in defense spending to 5% of GDP.' He also maintained that Bratislava has 'other priorities in the coming years than armament.'
The event was limited to just one working meeting lasting two and a half hours – reportedly because of Trump's dislike for lengthy sessions. The summit was also solely focused on increasing the defense spending of members, one of Trump's key demands on the bloc.
After the meeting, the New York Times reported that the Ukraine conflict was pushed 'to the sidelines' of the event as its organizers sought to cast all controversial topics aside. Kiev's membership ambitions – something that used to be at the forefront of NATO discussions over the past years – were barely mentioned at this year's event and not included in the final declaration.
Some European officials were also unhappy with the level of flattery used by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to win over Trump during the meeting, according to Politico. 'People are so embarrassed,' one official told the outlet, adding that 'the sucking up was pretty over the top.'
Rutte reportedly called Trump 'daddy' during the summit and sent him a gushing message praising the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites ahead of the summit. The US president was quick to post the NATO chief's message online. The White House also shared a clip on social media showing Trump's participation in the summit and accompanied by Usher's song 'Daddy's home'.
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Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
Trump hails ‘great' NATO summit
US President Donald Trump has called NATO's recent summit in The Hague 'great.' Numerous media reports had previously claimed the two-day event was almost solely focused on pleasing the American leader. 'A wonderful day with incredible and caring Leaders,' Trump wrote Truth Social on Thursday, pointing to the NATO members' latest commitment to hike defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035. He also claimed the meeting earlier this week was 'the most unified and productive in history.' However, not all NATO members agreed to the defense spending hike demanded by Trump. Spain reached a deal with the bloc just days before the summit that excluded it from the 5% target, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He had earlier branded Trump's demand 'not only unreasonable but also counterproductive.' Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also said on Tuesday that his nation 'is capable of meeting NATO's requirements even without a substantial increase in defense spending to 5% of GDP.' He also maintained that Bratislava has 'other priorities in the coming years than armament.' The event was limited to just one working meeting lasting two and a half hours – reportedly because of Trump's dislike for lengthy sessions. The summit was also solely focused on increasing the defense spending of members, one of Trump's key demands on the bloc. After the meeting, the New York Times reported that the Ukraine conflict was pushed 'to the sidelines' of the event as its organizers sought to cast all controversial topics aside. Kiev's membership ambitions – something that used to be at the forefront of NATO discussions over the past years – were barely mentioned at this year's event and not included in the final declaration. Some European officials were also unhappy with the level of flattery used by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to win over Trump during the meeting, according to Politico. 'People are so embarrassed,' one official told the outlet, adding that 'the sucking up was pretty over the top.' Rutte reportedly called Trump 'daddy' during the summit and sent him a gushing message praising the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites ahead of the summit. The US president was quick to post the NATO chief's message online. The White House also shared a clip on social media showing Trump's participation in the summit and accompanied by Usher's song 'Daddy's home'.
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
EU state calls out ‘double standards' on Russia and Israel
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has accused the EU of double standards, noting that the bloc imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine but has failed to take similar action against Israel for its war in Gaza. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sanchez said he would propose suspending the EU's trade agreement with Israel, whose Article 2 designates human rights as an 'essential element' of the pact. He noted that UN reports are sounding the alarm over the 'catastrophic situation' in Gaza, where more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. 'It makes absolutely no sense that we've imposed 18 rounds of sanctions on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, while the EU, in a double standard, has been unable to suspend the association agreement with Israel, even as it flagrantly violates Article 2 on human rights,' Sanchez said. The Israeli Embassy in Madrid condemned Sanchez's remarks as 'morally indefensible' and accused him of 'launching an anti-Israel crusade.' 'Israel, a democratic country facing existential threats on multiple fronts, has both the right and the duty to defend its citizens,' the embassy said in a statement on X. In response, the Spanish Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli envoy over the embassy's 'unacceptable' comments. Israel launched its operation in Gaza following the surprise attack on October 7, 2023, during which Hamas and allied Palestinian groups killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resumed their offensive in the Palestinian enclave after a ceasefire collapsed in March.
Russia Today
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EU must prepare to talk to Russia
EU member states should consider resuming contact with Moscow, which was severed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters. According to Macron, despite being fully committed to boosting military capabilities within NATO, the bloc's European members have no wish to 'endlessly' arm themselves and should in the near future negotiate a new security framework with Moscow. 'We are not going to go towards an endless escalation, towards more armament. We must arm ourselves because today there is a gap between our level of armament and that of Russia. And that poses a threat,' Macron stated on Wednesday. 'At the same time, we must think about the security framework in which we want to live tomorrow,' he said. 'That's why we need to rethink [the security architecture] in the territories from the Black Sea to the Arctic, to determine how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves and what would be the terms of the discussion with Russia to make it possible to limit military capabilities and restore trust.' Macron advised member states to 'think about' restoring dialogue with Russia 'right now' in order to be able to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal. Macron made the remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague, where members committed to hiking defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035 in order to address the alleged 'long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.' US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged European NATO members to take more responsibility for their security and increase defense spending. Commenting on the hike, which one reporter called a 'one-man whim,' Macron said it is both Washington's wish and a 'European necessity' to become more independent militarily. Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, dismissing the claims as 'nonsense' and scare tactics used by Western officials to justify increased defense spending. Asked to disclose what NATO's warnings of a Russian threat were based on at the NATO summit, Secretary-General Mark Rutte did not provide any specific intelligence assessments, instead citing general fears. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of 'fueling global militarization and an arms race' by fabricating 'horror stories' to extract money from citizens of member states.
