Highlights from the first day of the NATO summit included President Donald Trump saying he would soon decide whether to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, and reiterating that he would like his country to control Greenland.
Trump also called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “nice person” despite suggesting over the weekend that he needed a restraining order for her.
Here’s what we’ll be watching today as the main session kicks off:
“Ironclad commitment”: NATO leaders, including Trump, are expected to reaffirm their commitment to collective defense at the summit. European leaders have been keen to show they are committed to defense spending and shifting dependence for Europe’s security away from the US after Trump repeatedly criticized the alliance and called on allies to “step up.” Trump had considered skipping the summit altogether.
Defense spending: Last year, NATO heads of state committed that their governments would spend 5% of GDP on defense and security activities by 2035. The boost, NATO members agreed, was necessary because of the persistent threat to NATO from Russia and global terrorism. But several members are struggling to meet even the current 2% targets and have warned that they may not be able – or willing – to raise spending. This is likely to be a major sticking point given Trump’s focus on spending.
Yesterday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said member countries were signing defense deals worth “literally billions of dollars” at the summit.
US forces withdrawal from Europe: Trump has previously threatened to withdraw some US forces from Europe, and the Pentagon has already canceled two deployments to Europe and ordered the removal of other personnel from the continent. Yesterday, Trump declined to say whether he plans to announce additional US troop reductions. Rutte, meanwhile, said Europe is a stronger partner to the US than it was five years ago.
Ukraine war: Trump yesterday expressed optimism over prospects for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, despite saying that nothing has changed regarding the conflict. Russia’s war will be a focal point of today’s agenda. Ukraine has been struggling to fend off Russia’s deadly mass aerial attacks due to Kyiv’s acute shortage of patriot missiles, and Zelensky has renewed his plea for allies to supply Ukraine with those missiles.
Iran war: The fresh exchange of strikes between the US and Iran is likely to be a major point of discussion today, with security in the Strait of Hormuz already expected to be on the agenda. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO countries over their refusal to get dragged into the US-Israeli war with Iran. He has previously personally scolded several European leaders attending the summit, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his one-time ally Meloni.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Alejandra Jaramillo and Aileen Graef contributed reporting.