NATO Summit in Ankara Ends With Relief After Months of US Strain

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) closed a summit in Ankara with a sense of relief after months of severe internal strain, The Japan Times reported. The tension was driven by US President Donald Trump's efforts to take Greenland from fellow member Denmark and by divisions over the war with Iran, and officials expected more difficulties ahead.

Even as the alliance managed its internal rifts, member states moved to arm themselves through American suppliers. Estonia opened talks with the US defense firm Anduril over the purchase of Barracuda munitions, TASS reported, one more sign that front-line European states are buying capability quickly.

The underlying story is a changing security order. Washington is pressing allies harder and signaling it will do less in Europe, which is forcing European governments to spend more on their own defense while they still depend on US weapons. That combination, greater urgency to rearm paired with continued reliance on American systems, is the tension the alliance left Ankara still facing.