Nato Statement Fails To Condemn Russia’s War – While Trump Praises Putin’s ‘Kindness’

Nato’s joint statement from this year’s summit barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine this year, even though Vladimir Putin’s war continues to rage.

Ever since the Russian president ordered the invasion of his European neighbour in February 2022, Nato allies have offered unwavering support to Ukraine and repeatedly condemned Putin’s aggression.

But at this year’s meeting at The Hague – the first Nato summit since Donald Trump was re-elected – member states appear to have prioritised bending to the US president’s will.

The watered down statement seemed to be part of a wider strategy to win over Trump, a prominent Nato sceptic, and prevent him from fulfilling his past threats of pulling out of the alliance altogether.

The statement also focused on member states’ collective pledge to increase its defence spending target from its current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% – although 1.5% of that sum could be spent on things like infrastructure.

That hike in defence spending comes amid wider concerns that Putin may push further into Europe with his ongoing land grab in Ukraine.

But the statement mainly credited Trump for the uptick in national security spending after he insisted that the continent stop relying on American military power.

It’s likely allies tried to avoid mentioning Putin’s aggression in to appease Trump, who is closer to Putin than Joe Biden ever was.

Meanwhile, Trump was able to go as far as to using his platform at Nato to praise Putin’s “kindness” after his Russian counterpart offered to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict.

The US president told reporters at the summit: “I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, ‘No, I don’t need help on Iran. I need help on Russia. Do me a favour. Help us with Russia, not with Iran.’”

The US president did have a brief meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodmyr Zelensky at the Nato summit.

The president later said: “I didn’t discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine with Zelensky. I just wanted to see how he was doing. We had tough times, but he was very kind. I was glad to see him. It was a wonderful meeting. I think this is a great time to end the war.”

Despite the disappointing joint statement and Trump’s warmth towards Putin, individual member states did re-iterate their ongoing support for Ukraine.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer has made it clear that Britain is still a prominent ally to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

He said: “This summit has sent a decisive message to aggressors and that must be matched by our commitment to Ukraine.