Conflict in the Middle East | Trump, angry with NATO, received Secretary General Rutte in Washington

(Washington) The White House on Wednesday criticized NATO member states for having “turned their backs” on the United States in the war against Iran, just before a meeting between Donald Trump and Mark Rutte, the latter believing on the contrary that European countries had fulfilled their promises.

Mr. Rutte, secretary general of the defense alliance, arrived at the White House discreetly in the middle of the afternoon and left just as discreetly two and a half hours later.

“They were put to the test, and they failed,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declared before her arrival, saying she was quoting Donald Trump directly.

“NATO wasn’t there when we needed them, and they won’t be there if we need them again. Remember Greenland, this big piece of poorly managed ice,” Donald Trump wrote in the evening on his Truth Social platform, after his meeting with Mr. Rutte.

The American president has been threatening to leave the Atlantic Alliance for months.

After a “very frank” interview with Donald Trump, Mark Rutte gave an interview to CNN. The channel asked him in particular if any NATO countries had actually failed: “A few, yes, but a large majority of European countries, and this is what we discussed today, did what they had promised,” he stressed.

Asked if the world was safer today than before the start of the war, the Dutchman replied: “Absolutely, because – and this is thanks to the leadership of President Trump – it is very, very important to degrade these “military capabilities” of Iran.

Personal relationship

According to the Wall Street Journalthe Trump administration is reportedly considering withdrawing American troops stationed in countries that did not support the military offensive against Iran, to move them to countries deemed more cooperative.

Mark Rutte also spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Their discussions focused on military operations against Iran, the war in Ukraine and strengthening coordination and “burden shifting” with NATO allies, according to a State Department statement.

The United States has held a central military role within NATO since its creation in 1949, but last year secured a sharp increase in defense spending from other members by 2035.

Mark Rutte probably tried to play on his personal relationship with the American president to try to appease his harsh criticism of his organization.

The tenant of the White House is full of praise for the head of NATO – “a wonderful, brilliant guy”, according to him – but castigates the Europeans for their refusal to help the United States and Israel in their offensive in Iran, who have observed a cease-fire since 24 hours.

“Lâches”

According to an Atlantic Alliance official, the meeting with the American president, planned “for a long time”, aimed to “build on the success of the NATO summit in The Hague” last year, when member countries committed themselves… under pressure from Donald Trump – to sharply increase their military spending.

In addition to strengthening transatlantic cooperation in the defense industry, the two officials were to “discuss the current security dynamic, in the context of Iran as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he said.

Mark Rutte has for months been engaged in a balancing act between the American president’s invectives against the European Allies, whom he has, among other things, described as “cowardly”, and the concern to defend them without angering Donald Trump.

This exercise became particularly difficult with the launch of American-Israeli strikes against Iran at the end of February, due to the frustration of the American president in the face of what he considers to be an escape from the Europeans in Iran.

He notably requested their help to secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The ceasefire obtained Tuesday through Pakistan provides for Iran to reopen this maritime passage in the Gulf, which it has de facto blocked since the start of the war.