NATO Summit Starts Amid Iran-Israel War

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Hague
• Jun 24, 2025
• 491

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit is starting today in The Hague, Netherlands. NATO, formed 76 years ago, is the world's strongest military organization with the support of America, but today it is in its worst phase. US President Donald Trump has expressed his displeasure with NATO many times.

This meeting is being considered as one of the most important meetings in the history of NATO because it is taking place at a time when the war between Russia and Ukraine is ongoing, the Iran-Israel war has started in the Middle East and the economy of the whole world is unstable.

After the Second World War, the USSR (today's Russia) helped form communist governments in Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It was also accused of rigging the elections.

The Soviet Union also planned to dominate Turkey and Greece. By controlling these two countries, the Soviet Union wanted to control the world trade through the Black Sea. Western countries considered these steps of the USSR as an invasion. These countries feared that communism would spread throughout Europe.

To deal with this, America announced the Truman Doctrine in 1947. Under this, it talked about supporting the countries opposing communism. Along with this, America introduced the Marshall Plan for economic help and re-development of the European countries devastated in the Second World War. It was officially called the European Recovery Program.

To counter the threat from the USSR, Western European countries formed a security pact. In 1948, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the Brussels Treaty. However, these countries needed the US to counter the Soviet Union. So they sought a large military alliance.

On 4 April 1949, 12 countries including America signed the North Atlantic Treaty and formed NATO. According to Article 5 of this agreement, if any member country is attacked, then all member countries will defend it.

France separated from NATO, rejoined after 43 years

In 1966, France partially withdrew from NATO. The then President Charles de Gaulle believed that the US and Britain had too much influence in the organisation and that France's sovereignty was being affected by it.

Gaull wanted to avoid foreign control over French military policy. As a result, France withdrew from NATO's Joint Military Command. He removed NATO headquarters and US troops from the country. France remained a political member of the organization, however, and became a military member of NATO again in 2009 under President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Greece leaves NATO after dispute with Turkey

In 1974, a coup took place in Cyprus, which was supported by Greece. Its aim was to unite Cyprus with Greece. Angered by this, Turkey attacked Cyprus and occupied one-third of its territory.

Greece and Turkey were both members of NATO. Greece felt that NATO did not try to stop Turkey. Greece was upset and separated itself from NATO's military activities, although it remained a political member. Six years later, in 1980, Greece rejoined NATO militarily with the mediation of America.

There were many more disputes between NATO countries

There have also been serious tensions in relations between Turkey and the US. Particularly during the Syrian conflict, the US supported Kurdish fighters, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. This led to a deep dispute between the two countries.

Apart from this, Turkey had also bought the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. This also became a big issue between the two countries. America called it a threat to NATO's security and in response excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program.

Hungary, a country in Eastern Europe, has also been a matter of concern for Western countries many times. Prime Minister Viktor Orban is accused of weakening democracy and freedom of the press. Hungary's foreign policy often appears close to Russia. Hungary has also vetoed several proposals related to Ukraine, which has affected NATO's decisions.

Trump threatens to leave NATO

US President Donald Trump has also expressed his displeasure with NATO many times. Trump has repeatedly said that European countries are not spending enough on their security and the US is bearing the entire burden. He even said that if European countries do not spend 2% of GDP on defence, then the US can withdraw from the organisation.

Donald Trump has been advocating for America's exit from NATO for the past two decades. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump said that if Russia attacks the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), he would help them only after seeing whether they have fulfilled their duty to America or not.

Trump believes that European countries are enjoying NATO facilities at America's expense. After becoming President in 2017, he had threatened to leave NATO. In an interview in 2024, Trump had clearly said that if Russia attacks those countries which are spending less than 2% on their defense budget, America will not come to their aid. On the contrary, they will encourage Russia to attack.

Europe relies on America for security

After the Second World War (1939-45) Europe had become economically and militarily weak. On the other hand, after dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, America emerged as the world's biggest power.

America had the most powerful army and nuclear weapons in the world. It provided nuclear security to European countries. This prevented European countries from developing their own nuclear weapons.

The US guarantees nuclear security to European countries, especially against nuclear attacks from Russia. This reduces the military expenditure of European countries.

America has a strong military presence in Europe. More than 1 million American soldiers are present in Germany, Poland and Britain. America has built military bases here and deployed missile defense systems. America's presence assures security to Europe.

On the other hand, Europe's military power is limited. Most European countries spend less on defense than the US. The European Union (EU) does not have an organized army like NATO. Even powerful countries like Germany and France depend on the US for intelligence and technology.

If the US leaves the alliance, Europe will need to spend more to carry out its plans – perhaps 3 per cent. They will have to make up for the lack of ammunition, transport, refuelling aircraft, command and control systems, satellites, drones etc., which are currently provided by the US.

NATO member countries like the UK and France have 500 nuclear weapons, while Russia alone has 6000. If the US leaves NATO, the alliance will have to reshape its nuclear policy.