Tuesday in Ankara, Donald Trump sang the praises of his “friend” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while reserving his criticism for European allies, whom he accuses of not having been there during the American offensive in Iran.
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“I was very disappointed by NATO and, frankly, if the summit had not taken place in Turkey, (…) it is possible that I would not have gone there,” he declared alongside Mr. Erdogan, in one of the many lounges of the imposing palace that the latter had built in Ankara.
“There is a kind of alchemy that works between us,” he added about his Turkish counterpart, in power for more than two decades.
At odds with Europe, which he has accused for weeks of having abandoned him during the war in Iran, the American president has however not gone further than the reproaches he has been making for a while.
He even said a kind word about the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni, believing, after a recent skirmish, that she was “a good person, in fact”.
To try to defuse any further outbursts of anger, the NATO chief announced several arms contracts on Tuesday, hoping to convince Donald Trump of the seriousness of the Europeans in strengthening their defense capabilities, as demanded by the United States.
NATO member countries and “companies on both sides of the Atlantic will (…) sign contracts worth billions, literally billions of dollars,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
According to an Alliance diplomat, the total value of these contracts exceeds $50 billion.
A major contract has been confirmed with the Swedish firm Saab to replace the fleet of Awacs reconnaissance aircraft, manufactured by the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which NATO currently has.
The Airbus group has won a contract to supply a tenth A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport), a military transport and refueling aircraft, to the NATO fleet.
At least 5%
Last year, the American president obtained from Europeans and Canada that they commit to devoting at least 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to their security.
Many are still far from reaching this threshold, but Mark Rutte is not giving up on convincing Donald Trump that the dynamic is underway.
In 2025, “European Allies and Canada spent almost 20% more on defense than the previous year. If we consider 2025 and 2026 combined, this represents $258 billion in additional investments,” he stressed. This year, however, the increase will be reduced to 11%, according to Alliance estimates published Tuesday.
Now, “we must put this money at the service of our defense,” insisted Mr. Rutte.
The example comes from Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Ankara on Tuesday. He demanded that his country, which now has one of the most efficient defense industries in Europe, join the Alliance as quickly as possible to strengthen it.
“Do you really think it would be the right thing to do to leave a country and a people with this level of defense capabilities outside of NATO? », he said in front of an audience of industrialists and NATO officials. Several member countries are in favor, but the United States is opposed.
The Ukrainian defense industry has acquired expertise and know-how, particularly in terms of drones, from which the Europeans seek to draw inspiration.
However, this capacity is not enough to protect Ukraine 100% from the strikes launched daily by Russia. The Ukrainian president called on the Atlantic Alliance to show more “determination” in its support for his country’s air defense.
The Europeans also hope to confirm the dynamic favorable to Ukraine obtained at the G7 summit in Evian, France, in mid-June, in the presence of Donald Trump.
The latter estimated on Tuesday that Presidents Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he spoke in recent days, “both wanted to reach an agreement”.
Asked about Greenland, the American president reaffirmed that he believed it should be “controlled by the United States”, without repeating the threats made at the start of the year.
