Sawt Falasteen - Trump berates NATO, praises Erdogan as summit starts

Trump was greeted personally by Erdogan on the tarmac as he descended from Air Force One, before being escorted through the empty streets of the Turkish capital by a guard of riders on white horses.

The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, as Trump has lashed out at allies and Washington steps back from Europe.

"I was very disappointed with NATO," Trump said, sitting next to Erdogan at the Turkish leader's vast presidential palace.

"Frankly, if it (the summit) weren't held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it's possible that I wouldn't have attended."

NATO officials are hoping Trump's strong relationship with the Turkish leader could help smooth over the bad blood caused by the Iran war.

"It's a chemistry that works between us," Trump said.

In a potentially major boost for Erdogan, Trump said Washington would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, after booting it out of the programme in 2019 over Ankara's purchase of a Russian system.

Turkey has long sought to resolve the question of its readmittance to the F35 programme and the lifting of US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defence projects -- and has looked to Trump's visit to break the deadlock.

"Mr Trump has also personally given us his word on this matter," Erdogan said through a translator.

- 'Testing' -

European leaders are aiming to avoid a bust-up with the mercurial US leader that could deal a further blow to NATO's credibility, after Trump repeatedly cast doubt on Washington's commitment to protecting its allies.

But ahead their main session on Wednesday, the US president was clearly still smarting over the restrictions some allies placed on US forces using bases at the start of the Iran conflict.

"I was testing to see whether or not they'd be there, because I've long said that we helped them," he said.

"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down."

Trump also risked reopening another old wound with NATO when he reiterated his stance that Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark".

In a bid to prove to Trump that they are making good on a pledge last year to ramp up defence spending, NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in arms deals ahead of his arrival.

NATO chief Mark Rutte has insisted European countries are "delivering" by bolstering military budgets and moving to take more responsibility for the defence of their continent in the face of Russia.

"These are billions that are invested in our security, boosting our economies and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs," Rutte said at a glitzy industry forum.

- Zelensky makes pitch -

While NATO wanted to focus Trump's attention on its surging defence budgets, the stalled US efforts to try to halt the war in Ukraine also rose back up the agenda.

Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the NATO gathering and is expected to meet Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky on the summit sidelines on Wednesday.

"I think they both want to make a deal," Trump said.

"It's too bad it took so long, but I think something's going to come out."

Zelensky for his part urged NATO to step up help for the country's air defences as it struggles with shortages of crucial interceptors to shoot down Russian missiles.

"Please let more determination and more decisions for air defence be one of the key outcomes of this NATO summit," he said.

The Ukrainian leader also made a new pitch for Kyiv to become a member of the alliance, despite Trump previously shutting the door.

"Do you really believe it would be right to live outside NATO, a country and a people with this level of defensive capability?" Zelensky said.

"Ukraine in NATO is a source of extraordinary defensive capability."

S.Barghouti--SF-PST