Ankara, Turkey. U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the NATO meeting of heads of state in Ankara in early July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. His confirmation follows questions over whether Trump would take part in the alliance gathering.
Attendance confirmed amid tensions
Rubio told a congressional hearing that Trump would attend the summit despite his frustrations with NATO. He said the United States remains in the alliance and would be present in Turkey to discuss the issues at the center of recent disputes.
“The United States is still in the NATO alliance, and we’ll be there in Turkey to talk about all these topics. The president himself will be attending the next NATO meeting of heads of state, where all these points will be made clear,” Rubio said.
Concerns over alliance support
Questions about Trump’s attendance had arisen after he repeatedly expressed anger with NATO over what he described as the alliance’s reluctance to help the United States with the war in Iran.
Rubio said Trump’s main irritation was that some members did not allow the United States to use military bases in those countries during a crisis.
Several NATO countries resisted supporting the U.S. military campaign against Iran by denying U.S. military planes use of their airspace or declining to send naval forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz for energy tankers.
European position on Iran conflict
European leaders have rejected direct involvement in U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran, citing concerns about being drawn into an unpredictable conflict whose aims they do not fully understand and which is unpopular with their own citizens.
Trump has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” and earlier this year threatened to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance, arguing that Washington’s European allies relied on U.S. security guarantees while providing inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.
July summit in Ankara
Rubio said the July meeting in Turkey could be a pivotal moment for the alliance.
“I think the next meeting of NATO in Turkey in July is probably the most important meeting in NATO’s history, because there are some things here that need to be cleared up and fixed,” Rubio said.
NATO leaders have met every summer since 2021, and this year’s summit will take place in the Turkish capital Ankara on July 7 and 8.
