Trump clashes with NATO allies as summit wraps up
President Donald Trump says he’s “not happy” with some of America’s allies as the NATO summit nears its end in Turkey. He will join fellow NATO leaders for the summit’s only meeting Wednesday with all members in attendance before holding meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Before he leaves Ankara to head back to Washington, Trump is expected to hold a press conference.
Renewed push to take over Greenland
Trump criticized other NATO countries for what he called their lack of support during the Iran conflict, then renewed his call for the U.S. to take control of Greenland. He also revived his threat to pull American troops out of Europe over the issue.
“Greenland doesn’t help Denmark,” Trump said. “Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland. But it’s an important part for the United States. And it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships. And that’s not going to happen, the ships, it’s not going to happen. It was Greenland — that, in my [opinion] and it continues to be — that should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark. And when they [NATO] wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia, we don’t have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe.”
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, fired back and called on NATO allies to stand together in defense of the alliance.
“I think the U.S. position is, unfortunately, very clear on this topic and our position is as clear as it has been all through Greenland is, of course, not for sale,” Frederiksen said.
She added, “We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory. But one of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other.”
Trump calls out Spain
Trump also singled out Spain, calling it a “terrible partner” over its refusal to support U.S. actions against Iran and reviving an earlier threat to cut off trade.
“Spain is a wasted cause,” he said, adding, “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain, cut off all trade with Spain please. Including visits, okay, we don’t want anything to do. Watch them come running back. Oh, they’ll come running back.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office responded to Trump’s comments, saying the country “maintains an excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the U.S., and we have no intention of seeing that change.”
Spain’s health minister struck a different note, accusing Trump of bullying.
“Trump calls Spain a ‘terrible partner’ because it accepts neither blackmail nor threats,” Mónica García said in a post on X translated by the platform’s Grok AI. “Because we are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace. Terrible is to confuse diplomacy with thuggery.”
Turkey sanctions lifted
During a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump announced the U.S. is lifting sanctions on Turkey.
“We don’t sanction friends,” he said.
He also said he would consider allowing Turkey to have F-35 fighter jets again, despite cutting off sales during his last administration over Turkey’s ties to Russia.
“We have a very good relationship … Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal,” he said.
Some NATO allies, including Greece, are urging Trump to reconsider. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not directly comment on the possible sale, but said Greece is “still faced with an open threat” from Turkey.
“We need to be cognizant of the fact that the sensitivities of all NATO allies need to be taken into consideration,” Mitsotakis said.
On to Ukraine
On Wednesday, Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has renewed appeals for Ukraine to be admitted into NATO. He’s also been asking for more help fighting Russia amid fresh attacks on Kyiv ahead of the summit.
Trump said he had already spoken to Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit about ending the war with Russia. After that ha said the war will be over “hopefully soon.”
“You know, I settled eight wars, and I think we’re going to be settling a ninth,” Trump said. “It doesn’t seem likely now, but sometimes, with wars, I see when it’s least likely, that’s when it happens. I had a very good talk with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, I had a very good talk with. I would say it’s a combination. A lot of times, I do well with Putin, and Zelenskyy would be a problem, or vice versa — Zelenskyy would be great, and Putin would be… They both want to get it settled now. That’s all I do in my life is deals, I know deals. And I think we’re going to get it settled, hopefully soon.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
