Rutte faces challenges from NATO summit in Ankara

Since taking over as NATO secretary-general nearly two years ago, Mark Rutte has spent much of his time trying to keep the United States anchored in the world’s largest military alliance, resorting to outright flattery to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from acting on his threats to abandon it.

However, the goals continue to shift, raising the stakes ahead of this week’s summit in Türkiye.

Initially, it was a question of money. Trump has long criticized NATO allies for spending too little of their national budgets on defense. However, these issues were addressed at last year’s summit, when US allies pledged to invest as much as the US, in terms of gross domestic product.

Photo: Reuters

NATO’s real problem now is turning this money into military capabilities, especially as European countries worry about a possible Russian attack.

Yet Rutte attempted to allay any lingering concerns during a White House meeting last month, with a new speech using a chart titled “The Trillion Trump” in gold letters – showing $1.2 trillion in spending by European allies and Canada since 2017.

However, Trump appeared unfazed, saying he was still disappointed by the refusal of some NATO allies to join the war in Iran, which he launched alongside Israel without consulting them.

“We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything,” Trump said. “I just want loyalty.”

Trump said he might have skipped the upcoming summit altogether if it hadn’t been hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It’s a sign that even Erdogan and Rutte – the foreign leaders whom Trump appears to hold in rare esteem – would have their work cut out for them to keep the summit on track.

Historically, the main tasks of NATO’s top civilian official – always European, never American – have been to encourage consensus within an organization that makes decisions unanimously and to speak on behalf of all 32 member countries.

However, during Trump’s two terms, Rutte and his predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, devoted enormous energy just to keeping the United States within their alliance.

Trump has threatened to leave NATO, worked to withdraw US troops from Europe and promised to seize the island of Greenland – a semi-autonomous part of his ally Denmark. He has expressed doubts about his ability to defend another member who is not spending enough on his military, thereby eroding trust.

Rutte’s approach is full of flattery. Last month’s carefully choreographed speech in the Oval Office — complete with props reminiscent of an American flag — set a new milestone, even for a man heavily criticized for comparing Trump to a “daddy.”

The charts showed that tens of thousands of jobs were being created in the United States and that a $300 billion backlog of European orders for military equipment was underway – all thanks to the “leader of the free world”, Rutte said.

He gently responded to Trump’s complaints that NATO was not supporting the United States against Iran, saying that up to 5,000 American planes took off from bases in Europe before the April ceasefire.

NATO cannot function without its most important and powerful ally. Europe is being pushed to fend for itself even as Russia, the historical reason for the alliance, poses a greater threat.

Last month, the Pentagon surprised its NATO allies by announcing it was reducing the number of troops, warships, planes and drones it would provide if any of them were attacked. Trump also sent mixed messages on whether U.S. troop levels would be reduced or increased.

The cuts and mixed messages have undermined the unity of the alliance, just as Russia probes European defenses with drone flights near military bases in several countries, according to a study published Thursday.

Each summit is intended to showcase the commitment to collective security – the “all for one, one for all” commitment enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. It has only been invoked once, when the allies came to America’s aid after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The last NATO summit was held in The Hague, the hometown of Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister. The Dutch royal family hosted a dinner and Trump spent the night at the king’s palace.

Rutte convinced allies to commit to significant defense spending, and Trump walked away happy, calling his NATO partners a “nice bunch of people.”

This year, the summit would be hosted by Erdogan, another key NATO member with independent leanings. His close ties with Trump could keep the US president at the negotiating table, but are unlikely to mend divisions.