“If it weren't for Erdogan, a very strong friend and leader, I would not even have come." He had already said it and he repeated it on Tuesday, setting foot in Türkiye, the American president Donald Trump. And, with this single joke, he makes everyone understand what he is and remains (despite the efforts of the NATO secretary Mark Rutte) his posture on role and future of the Alliance at this stage of open crises in Ukraine and IranAfter a year marked by internal struggles, crises and recriminations, NATO countries have opted for the tried and tested strategy: to manage the "variable" Donald Trump and minimize the risk of unpleasant surprises. This is where the Turkish hosts' decision to reduce summit times to a minimum At the level of heads of state and government, the 32-party discussion is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday. In other words: the shorter the summit, the less risk there is of something going wrong.
NATO Summit: Trump attacks NATO again, Meloni reacts coldly.
Uncertainty, however, remains prevalent according to Trump's initial statements in Ankara. The US president said he was "disappointed" by NATO, he returned to criticize France, Germany and Italy that they did not help him in the attacks on Iran with the use of bases in several EU countries and he repeated that could withdraw all American troops from Europe. On Giorgia Meloni One comment: "Nice guy, but he didn't help us." Trump once again claimed the need for control of Greenland, even though he acknowledged that this "would damage my relations with NATO." He instead had words of appreciation for Turkish President Erdogan ("there's a sort of alchemy that works between us") and has opened the sale of F35s to Ankara overcoming the sanctions imposed after Turkey's decision to buy S-400 air defense systems from Russia, but Trump also said on Tuesday that the sanctions will be removed because "we don't sanction friends."
NATO Summit: The Game Is Being Played on US Arms Exports
It is always part of the strategy of NATO Secretary General Rutte and the European allies to please Washington by including in the final declaration a reference to the US war in Iran by demanding that the Strait of Hormuz remain open and that Tehran never acquire nuclear weapons. A sort of olive branch offered to Trump Given the divisions within the alliance over the war in Iran, the allies will also commit to continuing to assume responsibility for European defense after the United States scaled back capabilities such as fighter jets, bombers, and destroyers in NATO's war plans in May, and many procurement agreements will likely be reworked.
But the American president does not appear convinced by Rutte's reassurances, who continues to repeat that "Europeans and Canadians are now on the right track to equalize their defense spending with that of the United States". The game is played above all on theAmerican arms exports while in Europe there is an ever-increasing attention to seizing the opportunity to strengthen the continent's strategic autonomy and industrial base.
NATO Summit: What's Expected in Support for Kiev?
On Ukraine, the American president had a face-to-face meeting with Zelensky calling for forceful action and, after the meeting with Putin, Trump appears more optimistic indicating that Moscow and Kiev want an agreement and hopes that a peace solution can be found "soon". The summit is expected to confirmation of support to Kiev for 2026 and 2027 for 70 billion per year, but only at the expense of the Europeans and Canada. The United States has so far allocated $195 billion to Kiev (of which $73 billion for armaments and defense services) and Germany is the second largest financial aid recipient with over $100 billion, but the European bloc remains the main EU funder of Ukraine, surpassing the United States with over €215 billion. The formula the United States is banking on is the purchase of American weapons by members of the Atlantic Alliance and then sent to Kiev (PURL program, Prioritized Ukraine Requirement List). Most of the participating countries are European, followed by Australia and New Zealand, but not Italy.
The Italian Foreign Minister also spoke about this Antonio Tajani with his American counterpart Rubio. Tajani participated in a meeting with the partners of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar), whose presence at the Summit was supported by Italy. The dialogue with the Gulf countries The meeting will focus on developments in the Middle East, with particular attention to Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and the Strait of Hormuz. The minister also participated in the E5 ministerial meeting (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom), co-organized by Italy and Poland. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will also be joining the meeting. The meeting aims to strengthen coordination on key European security issues, with particular attention to Ukraine and the Middle East.
NATO Summit: What Crosetto Said About Trump
On the critical dialogue between Meloni and Trump, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto He remains convinced that "relations between states continue even if two leaders argue. Sigonella has nothing to do with it. He's angry with us because we didn't participate in the attacks in Iran. And in fact, he also attacked France and Germany since they also didn't take part in the offensive against Tehran. He attacks us because he speaks to his electorate.You must interpret his attacks in this way."
But Crosetto also talks about the spy network in Italy in favor of Moscow which involved some members of the Defense Department. "We don't have the antibodies to counter Russian penetration," says Crosetto. "I'm not at all surprised because I've been saying, indeed, warning about the risk of penetration for years," adds the Defense Minister. "Do an analysis and you'll see. The increase occurred with social media. Not just the Russians. But the Russians are the best at espionage."
