The problems Trump faces at the NATO Summit

There are two issues that cause disagreement between the US and European members of NATO, which are defense spending for NATO's collective defense principle (members must spend 2% of GDP on defense spending) and the Trump administration's intention to improve relations with the Kremlin.

President Trump pressures NATO to pay 2% of defense costs. Photo: AP

Defense spending - the issue dividing the US and NATO allies

On the first issue, President Trump is right to urge European allies to commit to NATO’s principle of collective defense, which is worthless if wealthy European nations do not fully honor their commitments.

One such country is Germany, which currently spends just 1.22% of its GDP on defense and is expected to increase that to just 1.25% by 2021. Despite being a key member of NATO and having a GDP 2.5 times larger than Russia, Germany spends just $45 billion a year on defense, while Russia spends around $80 billion a year.

However, Germany is not the only wealthy NATO member in Europe that refuses to pay 2% of GDP, as other countries include Belgium (0.91%), Italy (1.13%), Spain (0.92%) and the Czech Republic (1.07%). France, due to its military activities in Africa, spends more on defense, about 1.79% of GDP.

In addition, Canada - a country with abundant resources - only spends 1.31% of GDP on defense.

Meanwhile, the US spends much more on defense than other countries, at 3.58% of GDP. The US defense budget has always been high and is even higher than when the country spent the most on building its military during the Cold War period of the R. Reagan administration.

Since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies. Photo: Getty

Improve relations with Russia- distant goal?

Regarding the Trump administration's intention to improve relations with Russia, European officials are currently concerned and do not support the US-Russia summit scheduled to take place in Helsinki, Finland on July 16.

Most European countries want to "benefit" from the US defense contribution and are not willing to contribute their share, so if the US and Russia have a better relationship, the defense contribution of European countries will have to be reconsidered.

Previously, one of the disagreements at the recent G7 Summit was the US's desire for Russia to rejoin the G7 group of industrial powers, which was opposed by Canada and other European member states.

It’s not just Canada and European countries that seem to want Trump to meet or discuss one-on-one with Putin, but some US lawmakers as well. “I fear that this summit will prove to be another attack on NATO and our allies, and a gift to the Kremlin,” said Representative Adam Schiff of California.

Mr Schiff is among those who believe Mr Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 US presidential election to win over candidate Hillary Clinton.

However, the meeting between President Trump and his Russian counterpart is still considered by public opinion to be a wise calculation. Russia and the United States have been the two largest nuclear powers in the world since the Cold War. Currently, Russia still has the ability to undermine US interests, or cooperate with the US to achieve common interests.

Even if the US does not like Mr Putin, Russia cannot be simply ignored or pushed aside without negative repercussions for the US.

Although Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin have had brief meetings on the sidelines of two previous multilateral events, a formal, face-to-face bilateral meeting could be of great benefit to the United States.

The Trump administration may be interested in a deal to win Russian cooperation in ending the civil war in Syria and reducing Iranian influence in the country, in exchange for the US easing sanctions on Russia.

If Washington and Moscow strike a new deal, it would be good for the United States for the simple reason that the relationship would start with less friction between the two preeminent nuclear powers.

Moscow also has reason to listen to such a proposal because US sanctions have had a major impact on the Russian economy.

In addition, Israel, a country with close ties to the Kremlin, has also been actively lobbying Russia to withdraw its troops from Syria and stop supporting Iran. Russia also wants to find an exit strategy from the Middle East.

US-Russia relations have not yet been free of storms. Photo: AP

At the NATO Summit and the summit with the Russian president that follows, the Trump administration needs to be vigilant about American interests and put America first.

This means reforming and modernizing NATO, starting with demanding that allies meet their promised contributions to collective defense. Then the United States will ask countries to increase their contributions because of potential enemies and because it cannot rely on the U.S. military alone.

So, if Putin is willing to strike a deal that is favorable to Washington at the upcoming summit — to not undermine US efforts on North Korea and to save countless lives by de-escalating the war in Syria — then both countries are likely to succeed on these specific issues./.