LAST UPDATE | 24 Jun 2025

NATO CHIEF MARK Rutte sent a gushing, caps-filled, pre-summit text to US President Donald Trump ahead of a major summit which kicks off in the Netherlands today.  

The two-day summit will see leaders of the military alliance seeking to maintain Trump’s commitment as they attempt to carefully navigate tensions around Ukraine and the Middle East.

Trump touched down on Air Force One at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and was to head directly to The Hague, where the Dutch king is hosting a dinner kicking off the transatlantic alliance’s two-day gathering.

The overriding focus of the summit – which kicks off with dinner hosted by the Dutch king – has been on keeping Trump happy after his return to power sparked fears he could blow a hole in the seven-decade-old alliance.

Rutte, who has dedicated much time and resources to attempts to assuage and win over the unpredictable US president, sent Trump a gushing text message ahead of their dinner – which Trump shared a screenshot of to his millions of followers on Truth Social.

“Mr President, dear Donald,” the message began, segueing into a heartfelt congratulations and thanks for Trump’s “decisive action in Iran”.

“Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.

“Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.

“You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed on to five percent,” he wrote.

Rutte signed off the message with a wish for Trump’s safe travels and said he would see him at tonight’s dinner.

Just when you thought your jaw couldn't drop any further... Donald Trump releases a private message sent by NATO Sec General Mark Rutte - with a very big claim, and written, it would seem, in the most Trumpian language (NATO has confirmed to BBC it is genuine). What a world. pic.twitter.com/TZiB7MeLtr

— Mark Lowen (@marklowen) June 24, 2025

 All efforts have been made to placate Trump, including  limiting the participation of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

But despite the careful planning the meeting still risks being overshadowed by the fallout from Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

During his first term as US president, he threatened pulling out of the alliance – officially known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – unless other member states began spending more on defence.

Central to the effort to keep Trump on board – given his threat not to protect lower-spending Nato allies – will be a pledge to satisfy his insistence that members cough up five percent of their GDP on defence.

Short and sweet

With just a dinner hosted by the Dutch king on Tuesday and one two-and-a-half-hour session involving Nato’s 32 leaders on Wednesday, the summit is tighter than usual.

The short and sweet schedule is deliberate, it turns out.

“Meetings are being kept short, contentious subjects avoided,” said Jamie Shea, a former Nato official involved in planning previous summits.

“They’re making sure Trump isn’t bored with lengthy meetings where he has to stay for hours after he’s made his own speech.”

To give him a headline victory, Nato’s 32 countries have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate 3.5% to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5% to broader security-related areas like cybersecurity and infrastructure.

But Trump refused to say he was committed to Nato’s Article Five clause and protecting Europe in a move that will likely rattle his counterparts on the continent.

“Depends on your definition. There’s numerous definitions of Article Five,” Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One. “I’m committed to being their friends.”

Nato chief Mark Rutte said of the spending commitment: “This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future.” Rutte warns the alliance must be ready to confront the threat of a Russian attack within five years.

A former Dutch prime minister, Rutte has attempted to pressure NATO members by warning that “if you want to maintain the British language and not switch to Russian in London, then you have to defend yourself, and to defend yourself against Russia, which is now producing four times as much ammunition as the whole of Nato”.

Rutte hasn’t convinced everyone.

Spain declared it would not match the 3.5% pledge – though it would not block its adoption either. Madrid said it could meet its Nato commitments on 2.1%.

Rutte has maintained there were “no exemptions or opt-outs” for Nato members, so it’s a matter of time to see if Spain matched the pledge.

For a handful of countries, the new spending target does not make much difference.

The 3.5% figure is slightly above the current US budget, and below Poland, which is particularly concerned about the threat from nearby Russia, having seen its next door neighbour Ukraine invaded.

But for most it represents a substantial commitment, including France, Germany and the UK.

Previously the UK had committed to spending 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and leaks had suggested it was one of the last countries willing to sign up to the 3.5% target, a to and fro that only ended 10 days ago.

The additional percentage point amounts roughly to £30bn in new money for defence, a significant sum that Rutte said was accepted by Nato leaders because of the scale of the threat.

Zelenskyy sidelined

One of the biggest headaches for Nato was what to do about Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The war-time leader has been a central figure at recent summits and European allies were desperate to keep sending a signal of strong support.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Donald Trump during their infamous Oval Office meeting in March this year. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

But given Trump’s animus towards Zelenskyy after their infamous Oval Office bust-up, there was little appetite to have them spend too much time together.

In the end Nato decided to sideline the Ukrainian leader by inviting him to the dinner with the king and an industry forum – but not to the main work session with the alliance’s members.

But expect the unexpected

However well Nato’s planners do their job, there is no way to fully mitigate the chances that an outburst from Trump could derail the event.

At his first Nato summit in 2018, Trump publicly berated Germany, had a frosty exchange with then Nato boss Jens Stoltenberg and even physically shoved Montenegro’s leader aside.

And last time around, in Britain in 2019, the Nato summit was overshadowed by Canada’s Justin Trudeau being caught gossiping about Trump on hot mic.

With the Iran-Israel conflict entering dangerous new territory following US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites, and a trade stand-off still pitting Washington against Europe, there are plenty of topics beyond Nato that could cast a long shadow.

With reporting by Emma Hickey and – © AFP2025