Trump says 'very disappointed with NATO' post arrival in Ankara for bloc summit

ANKARA, Jul 7: Arriving in Ankara for the NATO summit, US President Donald Trump voicing frustration with the transatlantic bloc said Tuesday at the summit that he was "very disappointed" by the response of the country's closest allies in Washington's joint war with Israel against Iran.

The war, which was launched unilaterally by Washington and Jerusalem against Tehran saw little to no cooperation from the bloc members, leading to Trump's bitter criticism of NATO, which he had even called a "paper tiger" without American support.

"I was very disappointed with NATO," Trump told journalists in the Turkish capital as he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after arriving in Ankara for the NATO summit.

"We didn't need any help at all, and in a way, I was testing people, I was testing to see whether or not they'd be there, because I've long said that we helped them, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us."

Trump, who has been heavily critical of NATO members for not joining the war, has long chastised the bloc and repeatedly accused it of being overly dependent on US military power while failing to contribute enough to its collective security.

The war has severely impacted European economies, which rely much more heavily than Washington on imported gas and oil from the Persian Gulf, amid severe constraints on shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Several NATO members had outright denied the US permission to use their territory, airspace or military facilities for conducting operations against Iran during the conflict, while others completely distanced themselves from the campaign altogether, arguing that the war had been launched by the US and Israel outside the framework of the NATO alliance.

While the UK lent limited support to Washington by giving it permission to use some of its military facilities for what it described as limited defensive purposes geared towards protecting British interests and allies in the Gulf, London also stopped short of participating in offensive operations. (UNI)