US PresidentDonald TrumpbashedNATOand appeared to renew his threats overGreenlandafter a closed-door meeting with alliance chiefMark Rutte, during which he was expected to discusspossibly leaving the pivotal security bloc.
Trump's outrage atNATOallies over their failure to join in his war againstIranhad prompted fears he would seek to pull the United States out of the nearly eight-decade-old alliance.
However, in his first remarks after the meeting, he simply reiterated his frustration.
"NATOWASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN," he posted on Truth Social.
"REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!" he added, without any further explanation.
Before Trump launched his war on Iran, his threat to seize the vastArcticisland fromNATOallyDenmarkwas a key issue roiling the alliance.
Read moreNATO anniversary overshadowed by Trumps threats to quit alliance
Rutte the former Dutch premier dubbed the "Trump whisperer" for his skill in flattering the mercurial US leader entered the West Wing through a side gate and their meeting was held behind closed doors.
"It was a very frank, it was a very open discussion," Rutte later toldCNNin a televised interview.
Asked multiple times if Trump had said if he would leave the alliance, Rutte did not answer directly.
White HousePress Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters ahead of the meeting that a possible withdrawal is "something the president has discussed, and I think it's something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary General Rutte".
TheWall StreetJournal meanwhile reported that Trump was alternatively looking at punishing someNATOmembers he believed were unhelpful during the conflict by moving US troops out of their countries.
The meeting came one day after the United States and Iran agreed to a fragile two-weekceasefire.
The US president hasbrandedNATOa "paper tiger"for refusing to lead efforts to open the strategicStrait of Hormuzand for limiting US forces from using bases on their territories.
Trump has lashed out at several leaders personally, lambasting UK Prime MinisterKeir Starmeras "noWinston Churchill" and ridiculing Britain's aircraft carriers as "toys".
The plan reported by the Wall Street Journal would fall short of Trump's oft-hinted threats to pull the United States out ofNATOentirely a move for which he would need the approval of Congress.
'Daddy'
NATO's secretary general, however, boasts a record of pulling Trump back onto his side.
Ahead of the White House visit, Rutte met with US Secretary of StateMarco Rubioto talk about Iran,Russia's war againstUkraineandNATOresponsibilities.
"The two leaders discussed Operation Epic Fury, ongoing US-led efforts to bring a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war, and increasing coordination and burden shifting withNATOAllies," said State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
Rutte is also expected to meet withPentagonchief Pete Hegseth during his time in Washington.
NATOhas been buffeted by crisis after crisis since Trump returned to power last year most acutely by his threat to seize Greenland.
In recent months he has also pulled the rug out from under Ukraine in its war against Russia and threatened to not protect allies unless they spend more on defense.
Russia and China have been watching with glee as Trump rubbishes the alliance.
Rutte has been central to allied efforts to flatter and mollify the US leader, whom he called "daddy" at a summit last year.
On Iran, he has sought to thread the needle by calling US efforts to degrade Tehran's military capability something to "applaud".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
