Annebeau Hofkens

Trump leaves NATO summit

Several world leaders have left the NATO summit in The Hague, including US President Donald Trump. He left after his press conference in his presidential limousine 'The Beast'.

On his social media channel Truth Social, Trump looked back on his speech by sharing a video clip of the press conference, in which he reiterated that the United States had"successfully carried out a large-scale precision strike" on Iranian nuclear sites.

Today 15:19

Fairy Dejonckheere

Video | Rutte and Trump speak at NATO summit

Today 14:36

Peter De Lobel

Trump does not rule out new aid to Ukraine

"Vladimir Putin really needs to end that war," Trump said of the war in Ukraine. His conversation in The Hague with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was"very nice"."It went well. So many soldiers are dying there now, 7,000 last week on both sides combined. This has to stop."

Noteworthy: the American president did not rule out sending new aid packages to Ukraine."We'll see what happens."

Today 14:30

Peter De Lobel

afp

When asked about Article 5, Trump said he was leaving The Hague with a different idea than the one he arrived with."The love and the passion I saw from the people here to defend their country was beautiful, so much respect for me too. It was beautiful. They need the United States and they thanked all of us. They really love their country and we are going to help them defend their country."

Only..."Spain is terrible. That's the only country that doesn't want to pay. Well, we're talking about a trade deal, and they're going to pay double."

Trump zigzags between NATO, Iran and attacks on"fake news"

The US president's press conference does not seem to follow a set path. Donald Trump started with praise for the Netherlands and the organisation of the NATO summit. Then he began to meander. First with chest-thumping and his own praise for the attacks on Iran."No one else could have done this."

Then it was back to NATO and the agreements for higher defense spending."This is going to prevent disasters like what happened in Ukraine. That should never have happened," Trump said."The crisis in Ukraine shows that we have to get our industry, in America and Europe, in order."

Then there was some swearing at the media. CNN andThe New York Times were the scapegoats."Nobody looks at them anymore. That's partly thanks to me. Trust in the media has gone down, thanks to me. I exposed them." Then Trump spoke again about Iran: "We also used a submarine for that, we have the best submarines in the world."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stood on stage with Trump."Maybe we should call Pete the Secretary of War, I'm thinking about it," Trump said.

Today 14:01

Peter De Lobel

Trump:"A beautiful country, with beautiful trees"

Donald Trump started his press conference in a particularly good mood. He spoke of a"very successful NATO summit"."The Netherlands is a beautiful country,with beautiful trees. I'm going to take a few with me."

Trump is very pleased that "almost all countries" are going to 5 percent in (large) defense spending. He attributes this entirely to his own credit."I pushed for more when I was president the first time. And when I came back, I picked it up again. No one else could have done it. 'You did it', they said. 'You did it.' And maybe that's true."

Today 13:58

Rogier Verschueren

Trump and Zelensky have consulted: "Discussed all important topics"

US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky spoke, as expected, on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday. Zelensky confirmed this. According to the Ukrainian channel Suspilne, the meeting lasted about 50 minutes.

Zelensky spoke of a"long and substantial" conversation."We discussed all the really important topics. I thank the president and the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace. We discussed how to protect our people."

"We appreciate the attention and willingness to help bring peace closer. More details will follow," Zelensky concluded cryptically.(the guardian)

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Today 13:52

Peter De Lobel

Waiting for Trump...

In a packed press room, people are waiting for the appearance of American President Donald Trump. Everything takes a lot of time, because after Mark Rutte's press conference, entire rows had to be cleared so that all the American White House correspondents would have a place. That did not go without a hitch.

Today 13:37

Rogier Verschueren

Trump calls NATO summit"fantastic": "I love the Netherlands"

In an initial reaction, US President Donald Trump called the NATO summit"fantastic"."There were great people here. Everyone was there: all the prime ministers and presidents and kings and queens." Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima called Trump "beautiful people"."I love the Netherlands."

Trump was also asked whether he still supports NATO Article 5, which considers an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all members."Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't be here."(nrc)

Today 13:24

Peter De Lobel

De Wever: "If you leave doubt about Article 5, that is like an invitation to test it"

"Article 5 is the essence of NATO. You must leave no doubt about that, including with Russia. Then it is almost an invitation to come and test it," says Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA).

"If it is the collective will of the alliance to go to 3.5 percent, then you should go there," he said."But it is another hill on the Himalayas of budgetary problems that we already had. Do I want to spend 3.5 percent(of GDP, ed.) as a defense norm? No. Do I want to remain a member of NATO and ensure our security? Yes."

Today 13:12

Peter De Lobel

De Wever: "No plan to do more before 2029"

"We now have to start the next marathon, on top of the 2 percent, another 1.5 percent has to be added. That is not self-evident, but we have been able to extend the period to do that to ten years," said Prime Minister Bart De Wever at a press conference at the end of the NATO summit.

"Our path leads to 2.5 percent in 2034. We will see how things are in 2029, when we evaluate. We have already decided to go to 2 percent, which is a huge jump. But there is no plan to do more before 2029."

Like Spain, our country will focus primarily on the capabilities that NATO requires."It has been clearly stated that you have to achieve the capabilities. If you can do that without touching 3.5 percent, that is good. That is also what the letter to Spain was about. But there are no opt-outs." If the Spanish prime minister succeeds in achieving those capabilities without spending 3.5 percent,"then he is a genius," according to De Wever.

How was the Belgian 2 percent responded? Trump thought what we were doing was"very low", to which De Wever explained that at the moment no more is possible.

Today 13:01

Rogier Verschueren

One-two between Rutte and young journalists

At the end of the press conference, the invited youth correspondents were allowed to ask Secretary General Rutte a question."Many children are worried about what is going on in the world," their spokesperson said."Can we trust you to stand up for us?"

"We must ensure that we are so strong that no one will want to attack us," Rutte headed in the pass."The best way to safeguard the free world in which you live is to invest in defense."

Today 12:49

Peter De Lobel

Rutte: "Doesn't Trump deserve praise?"

Rutte was asked by a journalist whether he did not find his very flattering language towards US President Donald Trump humiliating."No, but it may be a matter of taste," said the Secretary-General.

"Doesn't he deserve some praise? Do you really believe that it would have been possible for us to go to 5 percent if he had not been re-elected president? That a number of countries would have done that on their own? No," Rutte repeated. He also once again showered praise on the American attack on Iran.

Today 12:44

Rogier Verschueren

Rutte satisfied with outcome of"enormously important" summit: "Quantum leap for NATO"

In the press conference after the formal part of the NATO summit was concluded, Secretary General Mark Rutte patted himself on the back. According to him, at the"enormously important meeting" the allies laid the foundations for a "quantum leap" for NATO defense."The member states recognize the threat we face and we are united in the belief that we must increase our efforts."

In addition to the agreement to invest 5 percent of GDP in defense, the Secretary-General also stressed that everyone has reaffirmed Article 5, including the United States."President Trump has also unequivocally confirmed this." Article 5 means that an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all members.

"Ukrainian President Zelensky is with us today, our message to him is that we keep our promise to the Ukrainian people," Rutte added. The 35 billion euros that are being released should, according to Rutte,"keep Ukraine in the war."

"We will now roll up our sleeves and make this plan a reality," Rutte concluded."No one should doubt our capacity and determination if someone were to attack us."