International White House: Trump attends Nato summit
US President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in the Netherlands at the end of June. This was announced by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in Washington. So far, Trump has not confirmed his attendance at the meeting. It had been speculated that he might avoid the summit due to disagreements within the military alliance over increased defense spending by member states - which would have been an escalation in relations between NATO and the US, which plays an essential role in the alliance.
03.06.2025, 20:22
SDA
On June 24 and 25, the heads of state and government of the military alliance will meet in The Hague to discuss, among other things, their defense spending. Trump is demanding five percent of gross domestic product from the alliance partners. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has responded with a compromise formula: 3.5 percent for the military and 1.5 percent for infrastructure such as roads or ports that may be relevant for defense.
Trump has been putting pressure on the NATO partners for a long time. During his first term in office (2017 to 2021), the Republican openly threatened to withdraw the USA from the military alliance if the other members did not fulfill their obligation to invest at least two percent of their economic strength in defence. Since then, he has boasted that the NATO partners only increased their spending as a result of his pressure.
