By Andrew Gray
ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - Disputes between U.S. President Donald Trump and other NATO leaders showed the alliance's democratic strength and should serve as a lesson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday after a summit in Ankara.
In an interview with Reuters, Rutte also said he saw no need to change the way he deals with Trump, despite accusations that he lavishes praise on the U.S. president and fails to push back on his criticism of allies.
“They knew what they got when they hired me, and I'm who I am,” he said. “If people are doing good stuff, I will say so. If I do not agree, I will also say so, but then probably not out in the open, and try to maintain the unity of the alliance."
Trump rattled the summit by publicly threatening to cut trade ties with Spain, reviving differences over the Iran war and renewing claims on Greenland, before later recommitting to the alliance and saying there was "a lot of love" and unity among its 32 leaders.
Asked what message the infighting sent to Russia's leader and whether it undermined NATO's message of deterrence, Rutte said: “I would say to Putin: You should have some more discussions yourself, out in the open.”
NATO identifies Russia as the biggest threat to the security of its members, who have boosted defence spending by hundreds of billions of dollars since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“What he (Putin) has seen now is sometimes allies disagreeing a bit, having a bit of a quarrel, and then coming together and reuniting,” Rutte said.
Rutte said the ability to argue openly and then converge around a common purpose was “what distinguishes democracies” from countries such as Russia, China and Iran.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Ediuting by Sanjeev Miglani)
