U.S. President Donald Trump pressed NATO allies to sharply raise defense spending as leaders gathered in Ankara, singling out Spain as a "terrible partner" for refusing to commit to a 5% GDP target by 2035 and faulting European nations for not joining U.S. military action in Iran. Trump also renewed his interest in acquiring Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the two-day summit successful and introduced "NATO 3.0," a framework shifting conventional defense responsibility to Europe and Canada while the U.S. provides nuclear deterrence. Rutte said Russia remains the long-term threat to NATO territory.
The summit's backdrop included U.S. force posture moves: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of European troop deployments within six months, cut 5,000 troops from Germany, and attempted to halt a rotational deployment to Poland — a move Trump himself effectively reversed. Belgium and Canada were granted more time to meet spending benchmarks.