The two-day NATO summit opened in Ankara, Turkey on the 7th. According to Reuters reports from July 7th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump attended the NATO summit and held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He expressed in the meeting that "If it weren't for the friendly relationship between Turkey’s leadership and mine, I might have boycotted the North Atlantic Council summit, and also I wouldn't rule out further withdrawal from Europe."
Trump said, “We will wait and see. I am very disappointed with NATO.” He also pointed out that Britain, France, Germany, and Italy did not do enough to support the United States in its war against Iran.
According to ABC, Trump said, "Italy has rejected us, Germany has rejected us, and France has also rejected us. It's no big deal, but why do we have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars, when they don't support us? We have always been supporting them."
Trump added that his allies "are not friendly" towards him, though he emphasized once again that he did not want or need their help.
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump said: "I think both sides want to reach an agreement. It's a pity that it took so long... Eventually, there will be a resolution."
Furthermore, Trump again pushed for reclaiming Greenland from Denmark.
Trump said, "Greenland should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark. That’s why my relationship with NATO has been damaged, because Greenland is of no use to Denmark. Denmark doesn’t actually spend money to help Greenland, but Greenland is an important part of the United States."
Denmark immediately expressed its opposition that day. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that she hoped her allies would respect Denmark's sovereignty and recognize that Greenland is not sellable.
Trump also stated that the United States will lift sanctions against Turkey and will make a final decision on the potential plan to resume the sale of F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey. This announcement indicates that there may be a significant turning point in the U.S.-Turkey defense relations, which have been stalled due to Turkey's procurement of Russian-made weapons.
