The NATO summit in Turkey’s capital this week was supposed to showcase alliance unity. Instead, it became a stage for Donald Trump’s combative diplomacy — and for the deepening fault lines within the Western bloc.
According to Der Spiegel, Trump threatened Denmark and publicly dismissed Spain, with observers noting the U.S. president appeared to have mentally “moved on” from NATO entirely. Behind closed doors, however, sources told the outlet that discussions may have been more substantive than the public theatrics suggested.
On Iran, Trump declared himself “the number one target” of Tehran and expressed doubt about reaching any deal: “I’m not sure I want an agreement with them,” he told reporters. On the explosive question of selling F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey — a deal that would reverse Ankara’s 2019 expulsion from the program over its purchase of Russian air defenses — Trump remained coy. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “Erdoğan has done everything.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, however, was less restrained. In a post-summit press conference, Erdoğan launched a pointed attack on Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying he “should not have made the mistake of opposing the sale of F-35s to Turkey.” Erdoğan dismissed both Israeli and Greek objections, asserting that “Turkey has the right to purchase fighter jets and defense equipment” and that such opposition “has no place in my world.”
The summit underscored a transactional turn in NATO politics, where bilateral leverage increasingly eclipses collective decision-making.
