U.S. President Donald Trump offered NATO allies an unexpected warm embrace as they wrapped up a key summit Wednesday (July 8, 2026) after earlier lashing out at them over their response to his war on Iran.

It was an abrupt swing from antagonism to affection within the space of a few short hours, illustrating the wide range of emotions exhibited by the mercurial U.S. leader.

“It was a great meeting, there was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity,” Mr. Trump told reporters after the closed-door meeting of 32 heads of state at the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Behind closed doors, Mr. Trump had reassured them he wanted the US to stay in the military alliance, saying: “We want to remain with you”, a source inside the session told AFP.

And that was reflected in the final declaration in which NATO leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad commitment” to the mutual assistance clause enshrined in Article 5 of the alliance treaty.

“An attack on one is an attack on all,” it said, in wording that sought to ease concerns about Washington’s commitment to the alliance.

But the day had not begun well with Mr. Trump lashing out over NATO allies’ failure to back his Iran campaign just before the session, threatening to cut trade with Spain, and insisting he still wants NATO member Denmark’s territory of Greenland.

“I’m very upset with NATO… because of what they did with Greenland, and… because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran,” he said.

Bark worse than bite

But once he came face-to-face with the leaders behind closed doors, his tone changed markedly, according to the source who attended the talks. “There is a strong contrast between what Trump says in public and what he actually says inside,” he said.

He also dialled down his earlier rhetoric on Iran — in which he described them as “scum” and “vicious, violent people” — with his remarks on the matter “not as harsh”, the source said.

And he made no further mention of Spain or Greenland.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal agreed that Mr. Trump’s tone in the session was more moderated, saying that he had given a “kind of constructive message… that Europe must step up, invest more in defence”.

“So it was kind of a good mood with sort of constructive messages,” he said.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said Mr. Trump’s outbursts should not necessarily be read as a sign of the alliance fragmenting.

“I wouldn’t see in it an indicator that we are somehow weakening NATO, and that the transatlantic bond is not there,” he said. “I think we should dramatise things less.”

Boost for Ukraine

Stalled efforts to halt the Ukraine war were also back on the agenda, with Mr. Trump pledging to give Kyiv “the right to make” Patriot air-defence missiles as he went into talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit.

“We’re going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right,” Mr. Trump told Zelenskyy, whose forces have been struggling to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles as supplies of crucial U.S.-made Patriot interceptors run low.

Despite Moscow’s heavy bombardments in recent days, Kyiv appears to be turning the tide by stabilising the front line and conducting strikes deep into Russia — strikes that Mr. Trump said could help end the war.

“It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end,” he added, repeating his belief that both Mr. Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin wanted to strike a deal to halt the fighting.

Also in the final NATO declaration, Europe and Canada pledged to keep military support flowing to Ukraine to the tune of 70 billion euros ($80 billion) a year in both 2026 and 2027.

Before leaving Ankara, Mr. Trump was also set to hold talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to rebuild the country’s international image as it emerges from years of civil war.

‘A big win for Trump’

The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, with Mr. Trump demanding members make good on a pledge to ramp up defence spending as Washington takes a step back from Europe.

Keen to avoid a new confrontation with Mr. Trump, NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in new arms contracts on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) in a bid to prove they were making good on a pledge to hike defence spending.

NATO chief Mark Rutte insisted the alliance was emerging stronger from the summit in Turkey — despite the disagreements.

Published – July 08, 2026 08:15 pm IST

U.S. President Donald Trump praised his “chemistry” with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he arrived in Ankara for a NATO summit on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), while hitting out at European allies for their response to his war in Iran.

Mr. Trump was greeted personally by Mr. Erdogan on the tarmac as he descended from Air Force One, before being escorted through the empty streets of the Turkish capital by a guard of riders on white horses.

The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, as Mr. Trump has lashed out at allies and Washington steps back from Europe.

“I was very disappointed with NATO,” Mr. Trump said, sitting next to Mr. Erdogan at the Turkish leader’s vast presidential palace.

“Frankly, if it (the summit) weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended.”

NATO officials are hoping President Trump’s strong relationship with the Turkish leader could help smooth over the bad blood caused by the Iran war.

“It’s a chemistry that works between us,” Mr. Trump said.

In a potentially major boost for Mr. Erdogan, Mr. Trump said Washington would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, after booting it out of the programme in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian system.

Mr. Turkey has long sought to resolve the question of its readmittance to the F35 programme and the lifting of US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defence projects — and has looked to Trump’s visit to break the deadlock.

“Mr Trump has also personally given us his word on this matter,” Mr. Erdogan said through a translator.

‘Testing’

European leaders are aiming to avoid a bust-up with the mercurial U.S. leader that could deal a further blow to NATO’s credibility, after Mr. Trump repeatedly cast doubt on Washington’s commitment to protecting its allies.

But ahead their main session on Wednesday, the U.S. President was clearly still smarting over the restrictions some allies placed on U.S. forces using bases at the start of the Iran conflict.

“I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there, because I’ve long said that we helped them,” he said.

“Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down.”

Mr. Trump also risked reopening another old wound with NATO when he reiterated his stance that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark”.

In a bid to prove to Mr. Trump that they are making good on a pledge last year to ramp up defence spending, NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in arms deals ahead of his arrival.

NATO chief Mark Rutte has insisted European countries are “delivering” by bolstering military budgets and moving to take more responsibility for the defence of their continent in the face of Russia.

“These are billions that are invested in our security, boosting our economies and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs,” Mr. Rutte said at a glitzy industry forum.

Zelenskyy makes pitch

While NATO wanted to focus Mr. Trump’s attention on its surging defence budgets, the stalled U.S. efforts to try to halt the war in Ukraine also rose back up the agenda.

Mr. Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the NATO gathering and is expected to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the summit sidelines on Wednesday (July 8, 2026).

“I think they both want to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said.

“It’s too bad it took so long, but I think something’s going to come out.”

Mr. Zelenskyy for his part urged NATO to step up help for the country’s air defences as it struggles with shortages of crucial interceptors to shoot down Russian missiles.

“Please let more determination and more decisions for air defence be one of the key outcomes of this NATO summit,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader also made a new pitch for Kyiv to become a member of the alliance, despite Trump previously shutting the door.

“Do you really believe it would be right to live outside NATO, a country and a people with this level of defensive capability?” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

“Ukraine in NATO is a source of extraordinary defensive capability.”

Published – July 07, 2026 10:07 pm IST