By Sabine Siebold, Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan GumrukcuANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders into disarray on Wednesday as he demanded the United States cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, but later changed tack and said there had been love and "a lot of unity". Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Trump had called Madrid a "terrible partner" in NATO as he railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain.Trump's remarks, also declaring the fragile ceasefire with Iran to be over, roiled a summit that European leaders hoped would look past a series of rows that have threatened to tear the military alliance apart."Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore," Trump said. "By the way, I'd like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits."Trump spoke alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has assiduously tried to assuage his concerns over defence spending, Iran and Greenland, while lavishing praise on the president for bringing such issues to the fore.But emerging from a closed-door meeting of NATO leaders, Trump later said, "There was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity." He also spoke more warmly of Volodymyr Zelenskiy when he met the Ukrainian president, in stark contrast to the tongue-lashing meted out at a meeting last year, and said he would give Kyiv a licence to make Patriot missiles. A source familiar with the NATO talks said Trump had not repeated his criticisms behind closed doors, and instead wanted to keep the U.S. in NATO, saying "we want to remain with you". French President Emmanuel Macron also said he did not hear any gripes from Trump, while Rutte declared that there had been a great sense of unity.On paper at least, the summit also ended with a message of solidarity, with NATO allies including Trump affirming their "ironclad commitment" to collective defence under the alliance's Article 5 pact in a summit declaration.European allies and Canada said they were assuming greater responsibility for the alliance's defence, while NATO members also pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026. Trump's earlier public remarks had undercut the carefully crafted pre-summit messaging that European NATO countries had stepped up to the plate on military spending, which saw at least $50 billion in defence initiatives unveiled on Tuesday.SPAIN SAYS IT WON'T BE BULLIEDWashington and Madrid have been at loggerheads, with Spain explicitly rejecting Trump's demands for European countries to sharply boost military spending and pay for their own defence. Spain's Socialist leadership has also refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or bases on its territory for the Iran war.In response, the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was treating Trump's statements as business as usual, adding that bilateral relations benefited both countries.Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia was more blunt."We are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace," she said on X. "What's terrible is confusing diplomacy with bullying."TRUMP CALLS IRAN 'SICK PEOPLE'The U.S. has unleashed new military strikes on Iran and revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers. It was the latest blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement in a war that is deeply unpopular in Europe."To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them," Trump said when asked whether the interim accord with Iran that envisaged hammering out a long-term peace deal by mid-August was over. "They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people."Trump also demanded that his country control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, reviving an issue that has put severe strain on the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the start of the Cold War."Greenland is very important for the United States, but it's not important for Denmark," he said. "In fact, when Denmark was overrun by the Nazis in less than one day - Hitler beat them out in one day, took over - they asked us to take care of Greenland. In fact, we took Greenland, and then stupidly we gave it back."Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated that Greenland was not up for grabs."We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory," she said.(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray, Humeyra Pamuk, David Latona, Gram Slattery, Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray and Matthias Williams; Editing by Alistair Bell, Andrew Heavens, Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones)
Trump says 'a lot of unity' at NATO summit after lashing allies
By Sabine Siebold, Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan GumrukcuANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders into disarray on Wednesday as he demanded the United States cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, but later changed tack and said there had been love and "a lot of unity". Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Trump had called Madrid a "terrible partner" in NATO as he railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain.












