By Trevor Hunnicutt and Lili Bayer
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, April 8 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump welcomes NATO chief Mark Rutte to the White House on Wednesday, as the war with Iran has pushed U.S. relations with other members of the military alliance to a crisis point.
The Republican president has threatened to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance and denounced Washington’s European allies in recent weeks for what he said was inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran. Trump said on Tuesday the attacks would be paused after the two sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Trump has called for countries that depend on oil from the Gulf region to break Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, but European countries are unlikely to join mine-clearing or other missions to free up navigation as long as hostilities continue, according to two European diplomats.
Iran has vowed to obstruct the vital chokepoint with mines until the war ends.
A ‘DANGEROUS POINT’ FOR THE ALLIANCE
Rutte, known in Europe as a “Trump whisperer,” has cultivated a warm relationship with Trump despite the tensions and referred to him last year as a “daddy” handling a schoolyard brawl between Israel and Iran. Another European diplomat described Rutte’s approach to Trump as deferential but effective.
Conflict over Iran has worsened transatlantic anxieties over Ukraine, Greenland and military spending, although senior U.S. officials have privately reassured European governments that the administration remains committed to NATO, according to one of the two European officials, who was involved in such conversations.
“This is a dangerous point for the transatlantic alliance,” said Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokesperson now at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.
When the two men meet, Rutte is likely to express a shared interest in restoring normal maritime trade after hostilities caused energy prices to spike globally, the first two diplomats said. He is also expected to attempt to sway the U.S. leader away from public criticism of the alliance, while touting steps European countries are taking to increase defense spending.
A NATO official said Rutte would seek to increase defense-industry cooperation and to discuss the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
But it is unclear whether NATO, a defensive alliance focused on North America and Europe, would play an extensive role in the Middle East. Rutte has not been tasked by European leaders with committing to an operation in the Strait of Hormuz when he meets with Trump, according to one of the diplomats.
“I expect he will keep up the dialogue on Ukraine and burden-shifting within NATO,” another senior European diplomat said, adding that the former Dutch politician has said alliance members “should lean into opening Hormuz” after a ceasefire.
Trump’s Oval Office meetings with foreign leaders are often a spectacle, with both praise and grievances aired publicly before television cameras. The White House has not said whether Trump and Rutte’s meeting would be open to the press.
TRUMP CALLS NATO A ‘PAPER TIGER’
NATO, which includes European countries, the U.S. and Canada, was formed in 1949 to counter the risk of Soviet attack and has been the cornerstone of the West’s security ever since.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” that is unhelpful in times of need. Asked by a Reuters reporter earlier this month about withdrawing from NATO, Trump said: “Wouldn’t you if you were me?”
His focus on the Middle East has also further threatened to divert U.S. weapons from Ukraine, whose defense is a major priority for most of NATO’s European members. Trump’s criticism of Ukraine, engagement with Russia and threats to take over Greenland from NATO member Denmark have alarmed those allies.
“He has been disappointed by NATO and other allies’ unwillingness to be helpful throughout Operation Epic Fury, even though his effort to destroy the threat posed by Iran is to their benefit,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. “As he said, the United States will remember.”
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Lili Bayer in Brussels; Additional reporting by John Irish and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Edmund Klamann)
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