NATO summit in Ankara: tensions loom over burden-sharing and Strait of Hormuz
NATO leaders gather in Ankara next week, with sharp differences expected over burden-sharing and defense spending, as well as US complaints about allies' lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the backslapping and glad-handing, transatlantic tensions are never far from the surface at the annual gathering of NATO leaders. It’s unlikely to be any different when they gather in Ankara next week. Sharp differences over burden-sharing and defense spending, and U.S. complaints about its allies’ lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, are likely to come to the fore.
EU leaders hope the summit will help steady transatlantic relations, but will President Trump be in listening mode when he arrives in Turkey? On this week’s Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast, Peter Snowdon talks to Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, who is rapidly increasing his country’s defense budget and capabilities, while Anne McElvoy catches up with POLITICO’s NATO reporter Victor Jack, who has been finding out what’s happening behind the scenes at NATO headquarters.
