Donald Trump won his NATO summit victory by securing defence spending, but the issue of a common position on Russia remains tense.
The NATO summit in The Hague, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already dubbed the “Trump summit,” has become a platform for important agreements and high-profile unresolved issues. The leaders of 32 countries agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 — a key demand of US President Donald Trump. He declared it a victory.
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Raising the defense goal means that Europe is moving away from dependence on America: countries should not only buy weapons, but also create powerful forces to counter threats. Secondly, it is a logical step after the inclusion of Finland and Sweden in NATO and a response to Russia's aggression.
The alliance's final statement described Russia as a “long-term threat” — up from last year's “most significant and immediate” — and Trump simply sidestepped the question of whether Putin was an “adversary.”
These nuances affect NATO’s attitude toward Ukraine. While Washington views the Ukrainian war as a “European conflict,” most European leaders consider it key to continental security. By refusing to open NATO’s doors to Kyiv, Trump has not changed the Alliance’s position: Secretary General Mark Rutte has assured that Ukraine’s path to membership is “irreversible.”
The US President, criticizing collective security, said: “There are many definitions of Article 5… But I am prepared to be their friend.” That is, he is prepared to support, but not automatically go to the defense of an ally.
This is what has forced the Europeans and Canada to prepare for their own defense. As Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, strategic realities today do not allow the United States to “focus primarily on Europe.” The alliance has agreed on new standards of military power, and this will be a real basis for defense capability, not just budgets.
The summit showed that Europe will begin to play a key role in its own security, without waiting for protection from Washington. This shifts NATO's center of gravity from Washington to Brussels and European capitals.
Let us recall that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made a tough statement against Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing that he does not trust him due to personal experience of communication, during which the Russian leader repeatedly told lies.
Rutte referred to his conversations with Putin after the MH17 tragedy, when the Malaysian passenger plane was shot down over the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas by a missile fired from a Russian Buk air defense system in July 2014. At the time, Rutte was prime minister of the Netherlands, whose citizens died in the crash.
In addition, the NATO chief stressed that it would be dangerous to illusorily perceive Russia as a less serious threat to the Alliance member countries, given its aggressive actions, including a full-scale war against Ukraine.
