NATO Leaders’ Price for Supporting Ukraine Is Their Self-Respect
But stroking Trump’s ego will be worth it if the US doesn’t cut off Zelenskiy.
Preparing for the leaders’ group photo at the June 25 NATO summit.
Photographer: NICOLAS TUCAT/AFPIt was scripted as a lovefest with only one purpose: to prevent the most impulsive and erratic US president in history from throwing NATO’s toys out of his pram. No one provoked a tantrum. Yesterday’s summit in the Hague made little pretense of discussing global strategy. It merely showcased the desperate efforts of European NATO members to increase their defense spending. It offered flattery to the US guest of honor in a fashion unprecedented even during the Cold War.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte set the tone with his welcome message before Donald Trump’s arrival, congratulating the president on his “decisive action” in Iran and promising that he would be “flying into another big success in the Hague.” He even expressed sympathy for the president’s public use of four-letter language.