Trump attacks Spain at NATO summit. Madrid says: US bases can close, we are safe.

Donald Trump arrived at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7-8 by attacking Spain and other allies. He had the support of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. However, the Spanish government plans to downplay these criticisms. Spain’s main argument is that it has already met its military capability goals set by the alliance. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will attend the leaders’ dinner on Tuesday. His team says Spain is the seventh-best performer out of 32 NATO members in reaching these goals. Spain also claims to be the third-largest contributor of troops to NATO missions. The Spanish government is not worried about threats of troop withdrawals or base closures. Officials say closing the US bases at Rota or Morón would not hurt Spain’s defense. They point to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which requires all members to defend any member that is attacked. Rutte warned on Monday that Trump will continue using a "reward and punishment" policy. "If one or two allies still need convincing, we have ways to do it," Rutte said, mentioning Germany. This follows Trump’s decision to pull 5,000 US soldiers from Germany and send them to Poland, after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Trump’s stance on Iran. Madrid insists NATO is about military capabilities and deterrence, not just spending. The government refuses to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, a target Trump demands. Spain currently spends 2.1% of GDP on defense. Officials note that other countries, including the UK, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary, have also said they will not meet the 5% goal.