PRESIDENT Alexander Stubb of Finland, President Donald Trump, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attend the Nato summit in Ankara.—Reuters
ANKARA: US President Donald Trump offered Nato allies an unexpected warm embrace as they wrapped up a key summit on Wednesday after earlier lashing out at them over their response to his war on Iran.
It was an abrupt swing from antagonism to affection within the space of a few short hours, illustrating the wide range of emotions exhibited by the mercurial US leader.
The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, with Trump demanding members make good on a pledge to ramp up defence spending as Washington takes a step back from Europe.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said he would use a summit of Ukraine’s allies next week to unveil new defence initiatives and joint military exercises, presenting the gathering as further evidence that Europe was assuming greater responsibility for its own security.
