By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to calm tensions with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, using a mix of flattery and gentle pushback to argue that instances of allies' reluctance to support the U.S. war with Iran were limited to "isolated cases."
The NATO chief is visiting Washington to try to ease strains over the Iran war and U.S. threats to draw down troops in Europe ahead of a pivotal NATO leaders' summit in July in Ankara.
Trump, a longtime NATO critic who has called the alliance a "paper tiger," has been angered by allies' refusal to support the U.S. in the Middle East conflict or help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 disrupted the major oil shipping route.
During the Oval Office meeting, Rutte used cardboard charts to show how much NATO countries have stepped up their defense spending since Trump first came into office in 2017.
He also said thousands of U.S. military planes had operated from bases in Europe during the war, pointing to that cooperation as a sign of the allies' support.
"I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking your European allies have been there," Rutte said.
Trump appeared unconvinced, at times interrupting Rutte to disagree with him, though he praised his leadership.
"You really have done a good job, and I think if anybody else were in that position, we wouldn't even be meeting today, to be honest with you, because we were let down," Trump said.
Since Trump's return to office last year, one of Rutte's primary roles has been managing the president's hostility toward the alliance and preventing tense moments, including Trump's push to acquire Greenland, from spiraling into lasting crises.
Tensions between Washington and NATO have escalated in recent months. After NATO allies refused to back Trump's Iran campaign, which he began without prior consultation, Trump openly questioned whether the U.S. should stand by NATO’s mutual defense pact and said he was considering leaving the alliance.
Another point of tension has been the increasing pressure from Washington on Europe to handle more of its security as the United States believes there is an "unhealthy co-dependence" by Europe on U.S. forces.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week berated "free-riding" allies at a NATO meeting and announced a six-month review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe that could result in some reductions of American forces. That followed a decision by the U.S. to shrink the pool of U.S. military capabilities available to the alliance in a crisis, leaving members grappling with how to fill gaps.
JULY SUMMIT
The alliance heads into the July 7–8 summit under unprecedented strain, with some European countries concerned that Washington may withdraw outright, a move that would throw into question the future of the alliance.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting, Rutte said Trump was "committed" to NATO, even as the Republican president earlier cast doubt on whether he would attend the summit if Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers an ally, was not hosting it.
"What we went through over the last two months with the various countries...I would not have gone for most people," Trump said. He expressed particular disappointment with the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain, while praising Poland.
At last year's summit in The Hague, NATO leaders backed the big increase in defense spending that Trump demanded, pledging to spend 5% of GDP on defense and defense-related measures within a decade. But while some European countries have sharply increased defense spending, others have lagged behind.
When Trump reiterated his frustration on Wednesday about insufficient funding, Rutte highlighted Germany's plans to double its defense spending between 2021 and 2029 and other significant increases planned by the Netherlands, Poland, the Nordic states and the Baltic countries.
"It's a bit of a mixed bag, but most of them have been doing it, and the alliance is so much stronger because of this man," Rutte said.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer in Brussels; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Nia Williams)
