MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump is on his way to The Hague in the Netherlands this morning for a NATO summit - this after an eventful few hours. He took to his social media to announce a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Iran, which he urged the parties not to violate, but the back-and-forth continues. Israel said this morning Iran had done so with a missile strike. Iran denies this. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is at The Hague reporting on the meeting, and she's with us now. Good morning, Eleanor.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So how would you describe the mood or the tenor of this summit?
BEARDSLEY: Well, you know, these summits tend to take on the flavor of their times. You know, last year, NATO allies gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 75th anniversary celebration of the alliance. President Biden was still in office, and the motto then was stronger and safer together in NATO. And I attended the summit two years ago in Lithuania. Biden had a major presence there. There was great solidarity between the U.S. and European allies around Ukraine, and the talk was about if and even when Ukraine might enter NATO.
Well, it could not be more different today. Under President Trump, the U.S. is disengaging from Europe and its traditional allies and turning its attention to Asia and the Middle East. This summit also feels like it's being overshadowed by what's going on in the Middle East, Michel. And NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, former Dutch prime minister, is providing over his first summit. He reminded everyone today that the real threat for Europe and the nearly 1 billion people under the protection of NATO is this...
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MARK RUTTE: The most significant and direct threat facing this alliance remains the Russian Federation. Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine with the support of North Korea, Iran and China, as well as Belarus.
MARTIN: So Eleanor, what are these leaders saying they're going to do about this? What's - what is being decided at this summit?
BEARDSLEY: Well, this summit is all about the NATO allies approving what Rutte called a new, ambitious defense investment plan, which will entail committing 5% of GDP to defense and defense industries by 2035, whereas before it has been just 2%.
MARTIN: Which is something that President Trump has been pushing for.
BEARDSLEY: Yes, it is. He's been saying Europeans need to step it up for a long time, and now everyone agrees. Europeans realize they will no longer be able to rely on the protection of the U.S. military umbrella. I spoke with Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer. She's president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a public policy think tank. Here's what she says.
ALEXANDRA DE HOOP SCHEFFER: This NATO summit is about Europeans saying together and collectively, we don't have the choice but to very seriously step up when it comes to committing to our own security and defense.
MARTIN: And I understand that Ukraine's president, Zelenskyy, will be there today. What's he expected to say?
BEARDSLEY: Well, Michel, at the Lithuania summit, Zelenskyy was treated like a rock star. But even though the war is raging in his country still, it seems his presence has been downscaled this year. As the world talks about Iran's nuclear weapons program, Rutte also reminded everyone that Iran has lethal nonnuclear weapons. Here he is.
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RUTTE: Iran, let's not forget - Iran is heavily involved in the fight of Russia against Ukraine by their drones deliveries, which are killing innocent Ukrainians every day.
BEARDSLEY: You know, those famous Shahed drones, Michel, rain terror down on cities like Kyiv every night in swarm attacks. I've been in them myself. And there's sort of a feeling of incomprehension here. Trump promised he'd end that war. He seems to have moved on. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be getting a free pass. He's refusing to negotiate a ceasefire and continuing to send missiles and drones into apartment blocks in Kyiv and killing. And people gathered here wonder - why doesn't President Trump deal with Russia like he does Iran?
MARTIN: That is Eleanor Beardsley at The Hague. Eleanor, thank you.
BEARDSLEY: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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