President Donald Trump is expected to leave Monday night for a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, at a complicated moment for the alliance. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO and even floated leaving the alliance altogether, which would require an act of Congress.

NATO Summit

The post-World War II pact includes 32 member countries that have vowed to defend each other in the case of an attack. Trump has expressed frustration with European countries for not doing more during the war with Iran, even though he didn’t consult those partners before launching strikes alongside Israel.

Trump has also called on NATO allies to increase their defense spending commitments. After years of underinvestment, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that European allies and Canada are now on a trajectory to equalize their defense spending with the United States.

Following that progress, NATO members agreed last year to a new goal to invest 5% of GDP – 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure improvements – over the next decade. Michael O’Hanlon, who directs foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution, said there is no enforcement mechanism if member countries don’t reach those targets, but the president has previously threatened not to defend countries if they don’t honor their spending commitments.

The concern is that those countries could be attacked by Russia next if the Kremlin succeeds in its war against Ukraine. The conflict is expected to be another focus of the NATO summit. Trump is expected to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, according to the White House.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.