President Donald Trump publicly pressured European allies during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The encounter, intended to strengthen alliance cohesion ahead of next month's NATO summit, revealed ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Europe regarding the Iran War.
On June 24, local time, after their meeting at the White House, Trump criticized European NATO members for not sufficiently supporting the U.S. during the Iran conflict. He stated, "We were disappointed," adding, "We didn't need help on this issue. We took them down in the first week." He specifically mentioned Italy, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain, expressing a desire for them to have offered assistance.
Trump asserted that what European allies need to provide is loyalty, not money. He said, "We don't need their money. We don't need anything else. I just want loyalty." He pointed out that while the U.S. has borne significant costs for European defense over the years, allied nations have not adequately responded when the U.S. needed them.
Stoltenberg acknowledged some of Trump's frustrations but countered that Europe's contributions should not be underestimated. He remarked, "I understand there were reasons to be disappointed," but emphasized, "Overall, European allies stood with the U.S." He noted that during the Iran War, 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. military aircraft were able to launch from European bases.
The issue of defense spending was also revisited. Trump pressed that European nations had agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense but have yet to fulfill this commitment. In response, Stoltenberg explained that there was an agreement to give countries several years to meet this target, highlighting that Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Denmark are increasing their defense budgets.
This meeting took place ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Turkey. Stoltenberg aimed to lower tensions between the U.S. and European allies through prior coordination with Trump, but the meeting ultimately exposed lingering distrust stemming from the Iran War.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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