NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday (24 June) as the alliance faces growing pressure over the war with Iran and uncertainty about the future of American troops in Europe.
The meeting comes just weeks before a crucial NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, where allies hope to present a united front despite deepening strains within the alliance.
Tensions between Washington and its NATO partners have risen sharply in recent months.
Trump has criticised allies for failing to support the United States during the conflict with Iran and has questioned whether Washington should continue to stand by NATO's mutual defence commitments.
Last week, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth criticised what he described as "free-riding" allies and announced a review of American troop deployments in Europe. The review could lead to reductions in the U.S. military presence on the continent.
The move has fuelled concerns among European governments, many of which remain heavily reliant on American military support.
Since taking the NATO role, Rutte has often found himself trying to smooth relations between Trump and the alliance.
Analysts believe his latest visit is aimed at ensuring the July summit avoids a public clash.
"I expect he is trying to get on the same page with Trump to make sure that the NATO summit is a success or not a wipeout," said Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"The NATO summit carries a potential for significant risk because Trump is upset and erratic, and even if Rutte comes and thinks he has an understanding with Trump, who knows what two weeks later will bring," he added.
In an interview with Fox News ahead of the meeting, Rutte sought to downplay disagreements over the Iran conflict.
He described cases where some NATO members denied U.S. military requests as "isolated" and stressed that hundreds of American aircraft had operated from bases across Europe in support of Washington's military campaign.
"We will also zoom out from this to this bigger picture of what he is doing for NATO," Rutte said, referring to rising defence spending among alliance members.
He added that NATO countries were increasing military investment and promised to reveal "huge" new figures on Wednesday.
Rutte's visit forms part of the final preparations for the NATO summit on 7 and 8 July in Ankara.
According to NATO, discussions will focus on higher defence spending, expanding defence production and continued support for Ukraine.
At last year's summit, allies agreed to work towards spending 5% of GDP on defence and defence-related measures within a decade, a long-standing demand from Trump.
While some countries have increased spending significantly, others continue to lag behind.
As the summit approaches, many NATO members will be hoping Rutte can once again ease tensions and prevent another crisis in the transatlantic alliance.
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday (24 June) as the alliance faces growing p...
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 24 June, covering the latest developments you need to know. ...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration was working towards a fair deal with Iran, hours after the Senate voted to direct him to halt military action against Tehran in a rare bipartisan rebuke.
A North Korean soldier has been taken into custody by South Korean forces after crossing the heavily guarded border between the two countries, in what officials believe may be a defection.
Australian authorities have expanded surveillance and testing efforts after confirming two cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, while neighbouring Papua New Guinea has suspended poultry imports from the country.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 24 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
At least thirteen people have died and sixty-six have been injured following an explosion at Qatar's main liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing hub at Ras Laffan, authorities said on Sunday.
Tehran has agreed to let the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommence inspections of its nuclear programme, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said. The U.S. and Iran have settled on a 60-day roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal, according to mediators Qatar and Pakistan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on a landmark internet deal that will allow traffic to pass through Azerbaijani networks.It's the latest deal to highlight the ongoing peace process between the two countries.
A Ukrainian strike has damaged a school building in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to local authorities cited by the TASS news agency. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Three students have been killed and at least seven injured after two of their peers opened fire in a high school in the Philippines, police said. A spokesperson for the police said the two suspects, aged 14 and 15, had been arrested and a police pistol confiscated. Bullying is a possible motive.
A North Korean soldier has been taken into custody by South Korean forces after crossing the heavily guarded border between the two countries, in what officials believe may be a defection.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 24 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the construction of two new 5,000-tonne warships every year over the next five years, signalling one of the country’s most ambitious naval expansion plans to date.
Google-owned YouTube has settled a lawsuit brought by a teenage plaintiff who claimed the platform harmed his mental health, avoiding what would have been the second California trial over allegations that social media companies fuel youth addiction.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to allow a Rastafarian inmate to pursue a damages claim against Louisiana prison officials who forcibly shaved his head in alleged violation of his religious beliefs, ruling that federal law does not permit such lawsuits against individual officers.
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