THE HAGUE, Netherlands 鈥 If European leaders are miffed at President Donald Trump鈥檚 attacks on Iran, do not expect to see any public criticism 鈥 at least until the close of the Nato summit on Wednesday when his plane is headed safely back across the Atlantic.
Trump may have embarrassed European leaders by claiming Iran was not interested in speaking to them and only wanted to speak to Trump 鈥 about the same time as Iranian officials were actually meeting with European negotiators in Geneva.
He may have irritated allies by striking Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities over the weekend without consulting them and giving them the briefest of notice before bombs started falling.
But right now, the focus of the other 31 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is to get through this week鈥檚 abbreviated annual summit with minimal disruption from the notoriously anti-Nato American president, participants and observers at the meeting said.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, in fact, on Tuesday illustrated the effort to manage Trump using lessons learned from dealing with him over the four years of his first term and the first months of his second: lay on the praise and flattery and make clear that he is a winner.
鈥淐ongratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer,鈥 Rutte wrote to Trump in a text message as the US president began his journey to The Hague on Air Force One. Trump immediately posted screenshots of the message on social media.
Rutte went on to tell Trump he had already achieved his goal to get other Nato members to spend more on defence. 鈥淵ou are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we鈥檝e got them all signed onto 5 percent!鈥 Rutte wrote. 鈥淓urope is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.鈥
Trump has many times made clear his transactional approach to life, including international relations. He has even explained that he likes Russian dictator Vladimir Putin because Putin has said that he likes Trump. Foreign leaders visiting the White House have made lavish praise of Trump a standard fixture in their public remarks, and the corollary strategy of not openly criticising him appears to be at least partially behind recent statements about his strike against Iran.
鈥淭here is no reason for us, or for me personally, to criticise what Israel started a week ago, nor is there any reason to criticise what America did last weekend,鈥 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.
Soon after the strikes, France released a statement saying it had 鈥渢aken note with concern,鈥 but hours later joined with Germany and the United Kingdom to affirm: 鈥淲e have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security.鈥
And Rutte, shortly after his note to Trump, had, unprompted, praised him at a public forum for opening a channel with Putin about a ceasefire with Ukraine: 鈥淚 want to commend President Trump for breaking the deadlock. When he came into office, he started dialog with President Putin, and I always thought that was crucial, and there鈥檚 only one leader who could break the deadlock originally, and that had to be the American president, because he is the most powerful leader in the world, and leading 25% of the world鈥檚 GDP, and the mightiest and most powerful military in the world.鈥
Others pointed out that European leaders also truly do not want Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and that, in any event, they are no longer significant players in the region.
鈥淚 think the Europeans have long gotten used to the fact that they are no factor in Middle East politics any longer,鈥 said Jan Techau, a Berlin-based analyst for the Center for European Policy Analysis. 鈥淎lso, criticising Trump ahead of the Nato summit was a no-go. The primary goal is to make this an accident-free summit. Don鈥榯 enrage Trump. So everyone kept quiet.鈥
One of Trump鈥檚 former national security advisers from his first term cautioned Nato leaders that playing to Trump鈥檚 vanity, while a good strategy, does not guarantee success.
鈥淔lattery works, but not necessarily always,鈥 John Bolton said. 鈥淚 mean, distracting his attention might work. They need to be creative.鈥
Rutte鈥檚 approach, though, appeared to have support from other Nato nations, even those that share a border with Russia and are potentially most at risk if the alliance is weakened.
鈥淭he secretary is a good politician, in a way, and a person who can find a compromise,鈥 said Estonian defence minister Hanno Pevkur. 鈥淗e has the best touch on that 鈥 what can be achieved, what cannot be achieved.鈥