Spain: Trump Tones Down Criticism Over NATO Spending

By Staff, Agencies

Spain said Thursday that US President Donald Trump softened his stance toward Madrid after acknowledging its increased NATO contributions, hours after threatening trade measures over defense spending, Reuters reported.

Speaking after Wednesday's NATO summit in Ankara, Trump initially described Spain as "a terrible partner" and directed officials to halt trade with the country amid disagreements over defense spending and the war on Iran.

However, while returning to the United States aboard Air Force One, Trump adopted a more conciliatory tone. "I did have issues, and I still do. But Spain, they came back all the way today. Spain was very generous today", Trump told reporters.

When asked what had changed, Trump replied, "They honored a request for lots of payments, and if they didn't, we wouldn't have even talked to them."

A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid understood the remarks to refer to Spain fulfilling NATO's previous defense spending target of 2% of gross domestic product.

During the summit, Sanchez said Spain would reach that benchmark this year after increasing nominal defense spending from 0.98% of GDP in 2017 to nearly €33 billion [$37.7 billion].

The Spanish prime minister also downplayed reports of tensions with Trump, describing their conversation during the summit as "very cordial."

Despite the apparent easing in rhetoric, Trump has continued criticizing Spain for refusing to endorse NATO's new goal of allocating 5% of GDP to defense spending by 2035.

Spain's government has argued that defense expenditures should reflect actual security requirements rather than arbitrary spending targets, warning that significantly higher military budgets could come at the expense of social programs.

It remains unclear whether Trump will pursue trade measures against Spain, though US officials are reportedly preparing potential restrictions on Spanish imports while Madrid's defense minister was set to meet the US ambassador.

Spanish officials reportedly downplayed Trump's threats as political posturing, while opposition parties criticized Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's handling of US ties, though officials said business and investment remained unaffected.