US President Donald Trump said on July 8 that he had ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade relations with Spain, calling Madrid a "bad partner" in NATO.
According to AFP, this content was stated by Mr. Trump next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead of the alliance summit in Ankara.
Earlier, July 7, Ankara time, according to Xinhua, Mr. Trump made tough statements aimed at European allies immediately after arriving in Turkey's capital Ankara to attend the NATO summit, and once again affirmed that the US should control Greenland.
Answering reporters before meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace, Mr. Trump said he was "very disappointed" with NATO because he believed that the alliance did not support the US in the conflict with Iran. The US leader continued to question the effectiveness of Washington spending hundreds of billions of USD on defense while many allies are not willing to support the US when necessary.
He said the conflict with Iran has also affected bilateral relations with Italy, especially with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Besides criticisms aimed at NATO allies, the US President continued to reiterate the controversial view on Greenland. "Greenland needs to be controlled by the US, not Denmark," Trump declared.
