Shafaqna Pakistan: US President Donald Trump will attend the upcoming NATO Summit 2026 in Türkiye this July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Wednesday, providing reassurance to members of the alliance.
Although US presidents have traditionally attended NATO summits given the leading role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, questions had emerged over Trump’s participation this year after he repeatedly criticized the alliance for what he described as insufficient support for the United States during the conflict with Iran.
Speaking at a congressional hearing, Rubio acknowledged Trump’s frustrations, saying the president was particularly concerned that some NATO members had not permitted the US to use military bases on their territory during a time of crisis.
Despite those concerns and his dissatisfaction with certain allies, Rubio said Trump would still attend the summit in Türkiye.
“The United States is still in the NATO alliance, and we’ll be there in Turkey to talk about all these topics. The president himself will be attending the next NATO meeting of heads of state, where all these points will be made clear,” Rubio said.
Several NATO countries resisted supporting the US military campaign against Iran by denying US military planes use of their airspace or declining to send naval forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz for energy tankers.
Trump has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” and threatened to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance in recent weeks, arguing that Washington’s European allies have relied on US security guarantees while providing inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.
Source: Dunya News
