Reference News Network June 25 report. The BBC website on June 23 published an article titled "Is This the Most Important NATO Summit Since the End of the Cold War?" by Kaja Adler. Excerpts follow:

US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in the Netherlands on the 24th to attend the NATO summit. This will be Trump's first attendance at a NATO summit since his return to power. Previously, he had angrily criticized NATO member states for freeloading and relying solely on American security guarantees. European allies, however, are eager to prove his views wrong.

A senior diplomat who did not wish to be named told me: "Since Trump returned to the White House, US-EU relations have been very tense over issues such as tariffs, to the point that we were even unsure a few weeks ago whether he would attend this summit."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte designed this summit around Trump. To please Trump, he agreed to significantly increase defense spending, demonstrating that Europeans are now willing to take more responsibility for their own security.

Rutte also hopes that by focusing the talks on financial issues, it can avoid conflicts or arguments between Trump and his allies.

This carefully planned plan may collapse.

Trump likes to win, and he is sensitive. He does not want to hear any critical voices at the NATO meeting.

Additionally, he has been assured that he will achieve a prominent victory at the summit, with European countries pledging to allocate 5% of their GDP to defense - a demand he raised in the early weeks of his return to the White House.

However, Spain claimed on the 22nd that it had been allowed to withdraw from the new spending plan - Rutte later denied this.

Other European allies facing difficulties in raising additional funds are also dissatisfied. The key issue is: Europe needs the United States, which has a strong military and nuclear force, to be on its side. Rutte successfully convinced reluctant leaders - except for Spain - to sign the new large-scale spending plan through this. It is a huge commitment.

But as former US ambassador to NATO, Juliana Smith, told me, even so, there is absolutely no way to get any guarantee from Trump.

On the evening of the 20th, you could almost hear the sound of European diplomats grinding their teeth because Trump casually defended his demand for allies to achieve a massive 5% defense spending target, while exempting himself and the United States from commitments.

What exact results can we expect? It depends largely on the person arriving in the Netherlands aboard Air Force One.

A senior diplomat told me that this is a "turning point moment" and possibly "the most important NATO summit since the Cold War": Europe begins to invest funds comparable to those of the United States in defense and truly takes on the responsibility of ensuring its own security. (Translated by Wang Diqing)

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519773237429961216/

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