NATO Alliance

The NATO summit reaffirmed collective defence and support for Ukraine, but Donald Trump's remarks on Spain, Greenland and Iran exposed deep alliance tensions

The US President said any decision on military deployments would depend on allies' response to his concerns over Greenland and support for Washington's Iran campaign, adding to unease within Nato

Germany now matches the US in NATO's common funding, but Washington continues to shoulder the majority of indirect military contributions to the alliance

Trump's attacks on Spain, renewed Greenland claims and remarks on Iran overshadowed the NATO summit, despite leaders ending the meeting with a show of unity

The US military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing Tehran ‌to sell oil after three ​tankers were hit by ​projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz

European leaders are seeking to reinforce US commitment to the alliance after Trump's criticism of allies, fresh strikes on Iran and renewed claims over Greenland

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday demanded that the allies put forward "clear, concrete and credible plans" to reach the organisation's spending targets at its annual summit in Ankara. The 32 nations agreed last year to invest 5 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence - 3.5 per cent on their defence budgets and 1.5 per cent on roads, bridges and ports so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict. Spain endorsed the goal but said that it could fulfill NATO's security requirements without spending so much. Some countries are still struggling to meet the alliance's old target of 2 per cent of GDP. On spending among European allies and Canada, Rutte said that "the evidence we see so far is impressive." He said that NATO estimates that they will invest a combined USD 258 billion more in defense in 2025 and this year than they have in previous years. But the numbers might not be enough to satisfy the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has .

Trump's frequent criticism of Nato, along with announced troop withdrawals from Europe and a six-month review of the US military presence on the continent, has fuelled uncertainty within the alliance

President Donald Trump plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday while attending the NATO summit in Turkey, the White House said. Those discussions will come as Kyiv tries to refocus Trump's attention on the conflict with Moscow and as Trump has publicly mused about Syria's role in the Middle East. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the meetings in a call with reporters while previewing the upcoming summit in Ankara, where Trump also plans to meet with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Before returning to the United States on Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to have a news conference, Kelly said. Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy comes as Russia's war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year. Both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone calls with Trump on Saturday, congratulating him on the July Fourth commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. Zelenskyy sai

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe Sir John Stringer said that European members have replaced most of the assets cut from US contingency plans, calling it a sign of a stronger Europe within Nato

NATO's deputy commander told The Associated Press that he wants a summit in Turkey to spur member countries to spend more on defence, reaffirm support for Ukraine and underline the unity of the alliance. Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, NATO's deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, spoke to AP in London less than two weeks before the crucial Ankara summit on July 7-8 tests the cohesion of the 77-year-old alliance. US President Donald Trump has sent conflicting signals over America's force posture in Europe, at times threatening to leave and at other times unnerving European leaders with his push to annex Greenland or his flattery of NATO adversary Russian President Vladimir Putin. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth lambasted NATO allies last week for not allowing use of their bases to attack Iran, as he announced a surprise six-month review of American forces in Europe. Meanwhile, government ministers in the UK have quit over what they say are military spending plans that fa

European Union nations agreed on Friday to open membership talks with Ukraine next week, officially launching the process for the war-torn country to eventually join the world's biggest trading bloc. At a meeting in Brussels, ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to officially open negotiations with Ukraine as well as with Moldova, which Russia has also tried to drag back into its orbit, on Monday in Luxembourg. Ukraine sees EU membership as an important "security guarantee" for a stable future once war with Russia ends. Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen. Others oppose it joining while fighting continues. Russia is strongly against it, and has cited moves toward NATO membership as a reason for launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, though it has not objected to EU membership for Kyiv. Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trad

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his latest mission to assuage nervous US allies in Europe about the Trump administration's intentions with NATO or at least put a friendlier face on whipsawing changes and uncertainty about American troop reductions. Rubio will attend a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden on Friday - the same day senior Pentagon officials are expected to brief the 32-nation alliance on plans for the US military's commitment to European defence at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. The meeting of diplomats, which precedes a NATO leaders' summit in Turkey in July, comes amid great uncertainty over how the war in Iran will play out and whether stalled US efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will resume. Resentment also still simmers on the continent over President Donald Trump's criticism of allies and his interest in taking over Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. Rubio has often been called on to offer a calmer, less ...

The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump's threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the "decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground." The US has several major military facilities in Germany, including the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. The number of troops leaving Germany would be 14 per cent of the 36,000 .

In response to heavy criticism from Washington over defence spending, European ‌Nato members, including Germany, have pledged to ‌take on more responsibility for their own ‌defence

Trump's comments were the latest in his attacks on European allies for not doing enough to pay for their own defence and support the US war in Iran

The King also reaffirmed support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia, noting that enduring partnerships between Europe and North America are essential to maintaining global stability

The European Union's ongoing push to bolster its own defensive capabilities isn't intended to spawn an alternative to the NATO alliance but to answer a long-standing US call for the continent to take charge of its own security, the French president said Saturday. Emmanuel Macron said Europe mustn't act to weaken NATO, which connects the continent with its American ally. Instead, Europeans are now stepping up to meet Washington's demand made over the past decade "sometimes nicely, sometimes less nicely" to take care of their own security. "The lesson we must draw is, let us no longer be dependent," Macron said after talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "We Europeans must strengthen this European pillar of NATO, we must strengthen this Europe of defense - not against anyone, not as an alternative to anything." Mitsotakis echoed the French president, saying the US should be pleased that the EU is taking its own self-reliance seriously and investing more in its own ...