Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has backed US President Donald Trump's intervention in the war between Israel and Iran, and subsequent ceasefire efforts, as the alliance's leaders gathered in The Hague for a summit.
The summit's initial focus on increased defence spending was overshadowed by the Middle East conflict, as Mr Trump demanded Israel and Iran respect the ceasefire, criticising both for breaching the deadline before flying to the Netherlands.
“Congratulations and thank you on your decisive action in Iran. That was truly extraordinary and something no one else dared to do,” Mr Rutte wrote in a message to Mr Trump, which the US President published on social media. “It makes us all safer.”
The goal of the summit is to convince the alliance's 32 states to commit to spending five per cent of their GDP on defence, to satisfy Mr Trump's demands that Europeans spend more on their own protection.
Mr Rutte promised the US President that he was “flying into another big success” at the summit. “It wasn't easy but we've got them all signed on the 5 per cent,” he said. “Europe is going to pay in a big way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
Later, Mr Rutte told Mr Trump: "That is thanks to you pushing us."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also praised Mr Trump, saying the US had helped in “alleviating” the threat of Iran's nuclear capability after striking enrichment plants across the country at the weekend.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan echoed these sentiments, hailing the ceasefire and urging "close dialogue" to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
'Fragile' situation
This marked a noticeable difference with opinions expressed by Norway and France, which criticised the US bombing of Iran as illegal. The Iran-Israel ceasefire is far from a done deal, French President Emmanuel Macron warned.
“I think [Mr Trump] made some important and very positive statements,” Mr Macron said after a two-day state visit to Norway. He added that “the situation remains very fragile”.
Jane Kinninmont, chief executive of the UN Association of the UK and co-author of an independent expert report published last year on Nato's engagement with the Middle East, said that few leaders would dare express outright criticism of Mr Trump out of fear of retaliation.
“There is so much uncertainty that leaders are genuinely quite afraid to say anything negative about Mr Trump that could result in damage to their economic interests or their security interests, so they are playing it safe,” Ms Kinninmont told The National.
“For most Europeans, a Middle East war is an unwanted and unpopular distraction from what they want to focus their military spending on, which is defence preparations against Russia,” Ms Kinninmont said.
Nato's presence in the Middle East has historically been focused on military training and liaison, and the risks of being sucked into the Iran crisis are limited.
Article five
Some Europeans governments view Russia as an existential threat and fear Mr Trump might pull the rug on Ukraine military support. Speaking on board Air Force One, the US President appeared not to fully endorse Article 5, which enshrines the principle of collective defence. It states that an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies.
“It depends on your definition. There are numerous definitions of Article 5,” Mr Trump said.
The summit has been carefully choreographed to avoid trouble, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who clashed with Mr Trump in the Oval Office, deciding not to attend talks on Wednesday, although he will take part in a pre-summit dinner hosted by the Dutch King Willem-Alexander.
Speaking at a panel, Mr Rutte said that it was important that Nato be able to juggle several crises at once. “If we were not able to deal with the Middle East, which is very big in commanding all the headlines, and Ukraine at the same time, we should not be in the business of politics and military at all,” he said. “If you can only deal with one issue at a time, then let other people take over.”
Europe should not shift its focus away from the Ukraine war, warned UK Defence Secretary John Healey.
"Understandably, all eyes have been on the Middle East, and it's really important that we don't lose sight of Ukraine," Mr Healey said. "[Russian President Vladmir] Putin wants our focus to slip. And part of the strong message from Nato is that we will not let that happen."
Five per cent
Increasing defence expenses to 5 per cent of GDP will be a “quantum leap of historic proportions”, Mr Rutte said. When he stepped down as prime minister of the Netherlands in 2023, his country was spending only 1.7 per cent of GDP on defence. Today, nearly one third of Nato states have yet to reach a 2 per cent commitment made in 2014.
Now, allies have agreed to dedicate 3.5 per cent to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 per cent to broader security-related areas such as cyber security and infrastructure.
"For the first time, every single ally will hit or exceed the 2 per cent mark — many surpassing 4 per cent — with a shared commitment to reach 5 per cent as soon as possible," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the shift as historic. “The security architecture that we relied on for decades can no longer be taken for granted. It is a once-in-a-generation tectonic shift,” Ms von der Leyen said.
No announcements are expected on the Middle East despite the Iran war making its way into discussions. To some in the region, Nato suffers from a negative perception associated with US military operations and the chaos that ensued after the 2011 Libya intervention, as well as incidents such as the botched evacuation of Kabul in 2021.
But today, the Nato mission in Iraq, which focuses on building up the capacity of the nation's security forces, is widely viewed as a success, while the alliance on June 12 signed an agreement for the establishment of a diplomatic Nato Liaison Office in Amman.
At its 2023 summit in Vilnius, Nato highlighted that security challenges in the Middle East posed a security threat and launched a comprehensive review of its engagement in the region.
Yet most ideas later put forward by experts have been swept under the carpet since Mr Trump's re-election to the White House in January – and understandably so, said Kristina Kausch, deputy managing director and senior fellow at the German Marshal Fund's southern division.
“As much as stronger engagement in the [Global] South may be professed at the rhetorical level, Nato is de facto very much, and for good reason, focused on its primary task of collective defence in Ukraine and Nato’s Eastern flank,” Ms Kausch said.
