President Donald Trump told North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies at a leaders’ meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Wednesday that he wants to keep the United States in the alliance and is prepared to continue arms sales, news agency Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
Inside the closed-door summit meeting, Trump also said that the United States is prepared to continue selling weapons to allies, regardless of how the weapons are used, the source told the news agency, requesting anonymity.
According to the source, during the meeting, President Trump did not announce the termination of the interim ceasefire agreement with Iran and did not mention the issue of Greenland.
Before the meeting began on Wednesday, Trump ordered an immediate halt to all trade with NATO member Spain. He also called Spain a “terrible partner” and made new demands on Greenland. However, the source said he did not repeat his criticisms of Spain and Greenland during the meeting.
The United States is the world’s largest arms exporter, according to SIPRI, with Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Ukraine among its biggest buyers. However, since the Russia-Ukraine war, US arms sales to the European region have also increased.
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However, since coming to power, Trump has repeatedly called on European countries to increase defense spending and has hinted at separating the United States from the NATO alliance.
Relations between the United States and NATO deteriorated slightly when Trump called for a more active military role for Europeans in securing the Strait of Hormuz, but several countries, including Germany, Italy, and Spain, expressed reluctance.
