Trump to attend NATO summit in The Hague on June 24 — U.S. envoy

U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24, U.S. Ambassador Matthew Whitaker confirmed, dismissing speculation about a possible no-show.

Whitaker said the decision was finalized following a consensus on increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP. “Leaders of all 32 NATO countries will gather in The Hague,” he said.

According to the ambassador, the summit is expected to result in a landmark agreement to raise defense budgets, driven by Trump’s leadership.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will not attend the summit; Japan will instead be represented by its foreign minister. Leaders of Australia and South Korea are also skipping the meeting, reportedly due to the cancellation of a planned Indo-Pacific partners' session.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto recently criticized NATO's structure as outdated and called for a strategic overhaul. Meanwhile, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to withdraw Slovakia from the alliance, raising concerns about NATO’s eastern flank.

N.Tebrizli