Rutte Faces Fresh Test to Keep Trump Committed to NATO Ahead of Turkey Summit

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte heads into this week's alliance summit in Turkey facing a growing challenge to keep US President Donald Trump committed to NATO, as the American leader shifts his demands from higher defence spending by allies to what he calls "loyalty."

For years, Trump criticised NATO members for failing to spend enough on defence. However, last yeat US allies pledged to increase military spending to match with the United States as a share of gross domestic product.

The alliance's focus has since turned to converting those investments into military capability, especially since European governments grow increasingly concerned about the threat posed by Russia.

During a White House meeting last month, Rutte sought to reinforce the alliance's value by presenting Trump with a chart titled "The Trump Trillion" in gold lettering, highlighting $1.2 trillion in additional defence spending by European allies and Canada since 2017, AP reported.

Trump, however, appeared unconvinced, saying he remained frustrated that several NATO members declined to join the US-led military campaign against Iran.

"We don't need their money — we don't need anything," Trump said. "I just want loyalty."

Trump also suggested he might have skipped this week's NATO summit had it not been hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, underscoring the diplomatic challenge facing both Erdogan and Rutte.

The NATO secretary-general's role has traditionally centred on building consensus among the alliance's 32 member states and representing their collective interests.

Under both of Trump's presidencies, however, Rutte and his predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, have devoted considerable effort to preventing Washington from distancing itself from NATO.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to leave the alliance, questioned America's commitment to defending members that spend too little on defence, floated withdrawing US troops from Europe and even suggested taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Rutte has responded with a strategy centred on personal diplomacy and public praise. During last month's Oval Office meeting, he highlighted the creation of tens of thousands of American jobs and a backlog of $300 billion in European orders for US military equipment, crediting them to the "leader of the free world."

He also sought to counter Trump's criticism that NATO had failed to support the United States during the Iran conflict, noting that as many as 5,000 US aircraft operated from European bases before an April ceasefire.

Another concern for NATO leaders is the continuous uncertainty of US' military presence in Europe.

Last month, the Pentagon informed allies it would reduce the number of troops, warships, aircraft and drones available to respond if a NATO member came under attack. Trump has also sent mixed signals about whether US troop levels in Europe will ultimately rise or fall.

NATO summits traditionally reaffirm the alliance's collective defence commitment under Article 5, which has been invoked only once, after the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Last year's summit in The Hague ended on a positive note after allies agreed to major increases in defence spending and Trump described NATO members as a "nice group of people."

This year's gathering in Turkey is expected to prove more difficult.

Rutte has argued that increased European defence spending allows the United States to focus more on security challenges posed by China while Europe shoulders greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine.

But Trump's latest demand for "loyalty" presents a more complex challenge than military spending targets.

In his memoir, former NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg recalled the tensions surrounding the alliance's 2018 summit, warning of the consequences if the United States were to abandon its commitments.

"If an American president says he no longer wishes to defend the other allies and leaves a NATO summit in protest, then the NATO treaty and its security guarantee aren't worth very much," Stoltenberg wrote, as per AP.