THE HAGUE: Will he play nice? That was the question for NATO leaders nervously waiting to see if a carefully choreographed show to please US President Donald Trump would pay dividends as the alliance summit began on Wednesday.
Every precaution is in place to avoid a Trump blow-up at the Hague gathering, from giving him credit for a historic spending deal to keeping the meeting short and sweet.
But that did not stop the volatile US leader launching a pre-summit grenade as he crossed the Atlantic on Air Force One, casting doubt on the very foundation of the 32-member alliance.
He refused to state his commitment to NATO’s Article Five clause, the basic agreement that says an attack on one member is an attack on all.
“Depends on your definition. There’s numerous definitions of Article Five,“ Trump told journalists in comments sure to rattle the European allies he dined with upon arrival on Tuesday night.
“I’m committed to being their friend,“ he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte played down the comments as the summit opened on Wednesday, saying he believed Trump and the United States were still “totally committed” to Article Five.
In an earlier message, probably not designed for public consumption, Rutte heaped flattery on Trump, praising him for bringing everyone on board for the spending hike.
“Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,“ Rutte wrote in a gushing, caps-filled missive to Trump, who promptly posted it on social media.
“You are flying into another big success in The Hague,“ wrote Rutte.
NATO allies are set on Wednesday to rubber stamp a pledge to allocate 3.5 percent of GDP to core defence spending, plus another 1.5 percent to broader security-related areas such as cybersecurity and infrastructure.
Rutte said that the spending boost by Europeans nations and Canada would make sure “that we not only are able to defend ourselves against the Russians and others, but also to equalise.”
“And this is fair, that we spend the same as the US is spending,“ Rutte said.
Rutte said that Trump was in an “excellent mood” after dining in royal splendour with the Dutch king and queen on Tuesday night and spending the night in their palace.
‘This is incredible’
Trump has long groused that European countries pay too little for their own security, upended by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The spending hike is designed to keep him engaged with the alliance, after his return to power sparked fears that he could blow up the seven-decade-old organisation.
Spain was the main hold-out on the five-percent target, complaining that spending that amount on defence was “unreasonable” — and drawing Trump’s ire in the process.
Trump took fresh aim at Madrid en route to The Hague, calling its stance “very unfair” and posting a graphic entitled “Spain threatens to derail NATO summit” showing the relative outlay of alliance members.
One of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defence in relative terms, Spain is only set to hit the current NATO target of two percent this year after a 10-billion-euro injection.
Rutte stressed that the spending hike — billed as “historic” — is needed to keep Russia in check, but even here Trump threatens to spoil NATO unity.
The US leader has turned Western policy on Ukraine on its head, reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin and maintaining a volatile relationship with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump and Zelensky are slated to have a tete-a-tete in The Hague — with officials hoping to avoid a bust-up like their infamous Oval Office shouting match.
Unlike previous summits, Zelensky has not been invited to the main working session of the leaders — cut to two and a half hours, reportedly due to Trump’s dislike of lengthy talks.
Rutte said that allies would send the message that support for Kyiv was “unwavering and will persist”.
But despite his insistence that Ukraine’s bid for membership remains “irreversible”, NATO will avoid any mention of Kyiv’s push to join after Trump ruled it out.
One European diplomat put it succinctly. “We have a completely unpredictable US president.”
“We are hoping there won’t be an ill-timed comment that is all anyone remembers. Everything has been done to reduce this risk,“ the official said.
