NATO: Trump praises summit as allies declare 'ironclad' pact

US President Donald Trump furiously criticized European allies for failing to publicly support his earlier attacks on Iran.

But at the NATO summit, he said “love” filled the room.

DW's Teri Schultz looks at which sentiment will prevail if there's a return to full-blown war.

President Donald Trump said the United States would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.

The announcement represents a boost for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, as Kyiv had long sought permission to produce them.

The US-made Patriot interceptor is the ‌only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles, whose high velocity and steep flight path make them difficult to stop.

"We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Ankara.

"It's a defensive ‌weapon, which I like better ⁠than ⁠an offensive weapon," Trump added.

Trump said he and Zelenskyy had developed a "very good" relationship, also insisting that both Kyiv and Moscow want to end the war. 

When asked if the US would immediately send additional Patriot interceptors, Trump said "some" could be sent immediately, but hinted that the goal was for Ukraine to make them.

"I think they can produce it pretty quickly. Once we explain it, ‌we'll bring the company here. You work with the company. They have a great ability to produce weapons, pretty complex weapons," he added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck an upbeat tone following talks with US President Donald Trump, expressing optimism regarding the possible future sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey amid other defense industry cooperation.

Erdogan told a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Ankara that Trump had a "positive" view on potential Turkish F-35 purchases and said he hoped Washington would keep its promise.

He also ​dismissed Israeli and Greek opposition ​to such a transaction, saying Athens in particular was making a "mistake" by opposing it.

Erdogan also confirmed that the United States had ‌largely lifted defense sanctions ​against ⁠Turkey, paving the way for defense cooperation including the construction of warships and submarines.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who famously drew consternation from Germany and other parts of NATO in 2019 when he referred to the European arm of the alliance in particular as "brain dead," tried to portray many of these problems as solved in what's set to be his last NATO summit as president. 

He said it was good both that European countries were spending more on defense, and were trying to bolster their own defense industrial base.

"Europeans are investing more and more and acting more and more for their own defense," Macron said.

"I for my part have been advocating this for nine years, considering that we have to do it for our own sake and that it is at the heart of European strategic autonomy." 

Macron said that, assuming new plans clear parliament, France will have doubled its military expenditure budget in the past 10 years during his two terms, which are soon to draw to a close. France votes in presidential elections next April.

He cited areas where France and other European countries were contributing to NATO security missions, in the Baltic and Scandinavia and elsewhere.

"And when the Americans reposition their efforts, withdraw their maritime assets, we are there to replace them," he said. "France by itself has covered 80% of the maritime requirements that opened up amid the US redeployment." 

Macron also sought to downplay concerns over US support for the alliance, saying that Trump had expressed more positive sentiments behind closed doors than in public at times in Turkey.

US President Donald Trump has hailed the "tremendous unity" at the NATO summit in Ankara and described it as "tremendously successful." He also referred to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as a "tremendous unifier."

"If there's one word that comes out of today, it's unification," he said in response to a question late in the press conference.

The US president also praised the increases in European defense spending, taking credit for the increased contributions elsewhere in NATO. He said NATO partners were keen to hear about production and delivery timetables for US equipment, lauding its quality.

"I ‌provided ​other leaders with an update on the steps we're taking to rapidly ​scale up production in the United States. And they wanted ⁠to ​hear that, because ​they don't really want to ​get it in ‌four years, five years, they want to ​get ⁠it like in a
week," he said. 

Trump said that NATO partners had been "laughing" at the US two years ago during his predecessor Joe Biden's term — even though Europe's defense spending boost began in earnest during that period — before concluding "they're not laughing now." He returned to this trope of the US being laughed at under Biden multiple times later in the presentation, including in his final answer.

Trump also told reporters there was a feeling of "love" in the air amid the summit, comments Germany's Friedrich Merz had singled out as reassuring, albeit before hearing them issued in full. 

"I don't wanna say they love me, as you'll say 'oh that's conceited, you're such a conceited person,' but they do," Trump said. "They said, 'oh sir, we love you.' These are grown people saying that! Maybe they're trying to get to me."

He went on to discuss tariff incomes and industry spending plans, praising US economic performance, and noting recent developments like Toyota's plans to open a factory in Texas. He also repeatedly boasted about the popularity of his TikTok account.

Asked about the prospect of conflict with Iran flaring up again, Trump told a reporter that there was no cause for concern. He said that Iran "not having a nuclear weapon" was more important than oil prices and claimed that if he had not been elected president "Iran would have wiped out Israel with a nuclear weapon." 

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen issued a short press release on Wednesday evening as the NATO summit was winding down, apparently a response to Trump's renewed call for the US to "control" the Arctic island. 

"I must repeat with difficulty: Greenland is not for sale," Nielsen said, writing in the Greenlandic official language Kalaallisut. "Our borders, international law and sovereignty will be respected. The future of Greenland will be decided by us." 

Nielsen said that this would not be changed "by the desire to occupy and control our country." 

The statement made no explicit mention of the US or Donald Trump or events in Ankara but nonetheless the timing and subject matter was conspicuous.

The semi-autonomous island is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. While polls suggest some residents would favor independence at some point, they also suggest that most would oppose becoming part of US territory. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his closing comments at the summit that European NATO members had demonstrated how the days of them hitching a free ride within the alliance were "over." 

He also said people should not overstate US President's Donald Trump's criticisms, saying that while he doesn't shy away from voicing dissatisfaction, the US president also "acknowledges the efforts we are making." 

Merz did not have a bilateral meeting with Trump at the summit, but German government sources said he and his wife Charlotte spoke with the president at some length during Tuesday's dinner at the presidential complex in Ankara.

Merz said that his government had told Trump that it was necessary to reach a "sustainable deal" with Iran to end the conflict, but also that it was Iran that was to blame for the latest violation of the ceasefire agreement. 

Merz also hailed NATO chief Mark Rutte calling him "the best man for his time" in the role. 

"He is in a position to keep NATO united, with a very charming and very personal and very engaging manner," Merz said of the longstanding former prime minister of the Netherlands. 

The substantive agreements reached at the Ankara summit had been strengthened on site, Merz said, rather than just sticking to what diplomats could agree on ahead of the talks. Rutte's input had "made this success possible," he said.

It’s standing room only as journalists await President Trump’s closing presser in Ankara.

Sure, it’s not the first time we’ve heard from the US Commander in Chief since the NATO summit got underway, but this will be his main remarks at the end of an interesting few hours at the alliance’s annual gathering of leaders.

Some delays to the schedule, but a packed audience awaits…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hailed a "tremendously successful" summit in his closing press conference, immediately mentioning the "great sense of unity" at the event in his remarks. 

"Allies warmly welcomed President Trump's leadership, that is transforming this alliance and making it stronger," Rutte said. "The message from this summit is simple: NATO delivers."

The former prime minister of the Netherlands went on to describe the commitment in The Hague last year to increase European and Canadian defense spending, and to say this week's summit had demonstrated "that those commitments are now being put into practice." 

He said that accelerating this process and converting pledges and procurement  deals into field-ready equipment and capabilities was the order of business going forward. 

Rutte — who was appointed in large part because of his perceived suitability for handling Trump with flattery, but who has also copped considerable criticism at times for his efforts to do so — told reporters the US was "totally right" to renew hostilities with Iran overnight.

He said that Tuesday's attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz constituted Iran "breaking" the terms of the fragile preliminary truce.

Asked about Trump voicing dissatisfaction over Europe's cooperation in the war against Iran, Rutte said the complaints related to "isolated cases." He said that Europe had been a "platform of power projection for the United States," helping facilitate the conflict with thousands of sorties launched from European bases. Addressing a follow-up question he said he believed both that Trump "was" and "is committed to NATO."

The summit declaration addresses five more points besides Article 5, as follows: 

• It emphasizes the 2025 Hague defense commitment to increase spending on core defense requirements by more than $139 billion (roughly €122 billion). It says that "more than $50 billion in new procurements" were confirmed at this week's summit alone and points to efforts expand manufacturing capacity and "accelerate innovation."
• Point 3 hails the development of "a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO — a modernized alliance." It says that European allies and Canada "are assuming greater responsibility for the alliance's defense," before also outlining efforts to modernize and expand the alliance's defensive and deployment capabilities, including with use of "uncrewed systems, cutting-edge technologies, and intelligence capabilities." 
• Point 4 pledges further assistance to Ukraine and also stresses how "European allies and Canada now finance the vast majority of security assistance" to the country through bilateral and multilateral means. For 2026, leaders pledge an additional $70 billion in "military equipment, assistance and training." 
• Point 5 seems to address two issues at once that are only moderately interlinked. It starts by saying the alliance continues to "respond and adapt" to the various challenges of the "broader security environment." Then it goes from the vague to the granular, saying "Iran must never have a nuclear weapon" and calling on Tehran to "fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz." 
• Finally, the declaration expresses "our appreciation for the generous hospitality" extended to NATO delegates in Ankara.

NATO allies have issued a six-point declaration as the summit in Ankara draws to a close. The first reasserts the alliance's commitment to Article 5 of its charter, often referred to as the mutual defense clause. 

"We, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in Ankara to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our collective defense under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and to the transatlantic bond," point one of the declaration states. 

"An attack on one is an attack on all. Our unity, solidarity and collective strength remain the foundation of peace, security, and prosperity for the one billion citizens in our alliance of free and democratic nations," it continues. 

The leaders say they remain committed to what they describe as a "360-degree approach to deterrence and defense." 

This renewed commitment to an agreement first forged in 1949 might seem superfluous at first glance. But it follows an 18-month period in which Donald Trump has on multiple occasions appeared to call the value of the NATO alliance and his commitment to European allies or his Canadian neighbor to the north into question. 

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics says NATO must now focus on turning its new funding pledges into real capabilities. 

The European Union has responded to a series of threats made by US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey.

European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill said that the EU will "always ensure" that the interests of its members are "fully proteced" after Trump said he was considering cutting all trade ties with Spain and that he was "upset" with the EU over their refusal to bow to his wishes for further US influence in Greenland.

"We expect the US to honor its commitments under that joint statement as we have honored ours," Gill said, referring to a recently approved trade deal between Brussels and Washington.

As for Greenland, Gill said that "decisions about the future of Greenland are for Greenlanders and Danes," adding that "territorial integrity, national sovereignty and inviolability of borders are fundamental principles of international law."

As host of the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave wide-ranging opening comments on Wednesday as he welcomed all the visitors to Ankara.

He singled out the US, Germany, Spain and Italy in particular to thank them "for additional air defense support to Turkey during the Iran war." 

Erdogan called US President Donald Trump's efforts to make peace with Iran "admirable."

He then encouraged European member states to ease restrictions on Europe-only defense initiatives.

"Restrictions ⁠among ⁠allies on defense cooperation, especially in the defense industry, must be lifted," the Turkish leader said.

"At a time when a model of ​cooperation based on common sense and reason is ​possible, ‌excluding allies that are not members of the [European] Union would lead to artificial divisions," he added.

US President Donald Trump said that as far as he was concerned, the interim accord to end the conflict with Iran is "over."

"It's just a waste of time dealing with them," Trump said, referring to the Iranian government and calling the leadership in Tehran "sick people," "scum," and "cuckoo."