Donald Trump did not raise concerns over UK defence spending with Sir Keir Starmer at the Nato summit, the Prime Minister has said.
There was “great unity” at the gathering in Turkey, Sir Keir insisted, despite the US president’s ongoing criticism of the alliance.
Ahead of Wednesday’s session of the North Atlantic Council, Mr Trump said he would “relate my problems” at the meeting, again insisting that Greenland – which belongs to Nato ally Denmark – should be part of the US.
He complained again about defence spending, saying he was “very upset” with Nato, and criticised the UK for refusing permission for the US to use British bases to launch strikes against Iran at the beginning of the war.
Defence spending was a key issue at the summit, with Nato general-secretary Mark Rutte calling on allies to present “credible” plans for reaching the target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 agreed at The Hague last year.
At home, Sir Keir has been accused of arriving at the summit “empty-handed” after last week’s Defence Investment Plan did not set out a clear path to reaching the Nato target, and there had been concerns Mr Trump could confront him over the issue.
But the outgoing Prime Minister said the American leader had not raised it.
Sir Keir told reporters travelling with him to Ankara: “Let me just share with you the closing words of President Trump, because as Mark Rutte closed the meeting, he turned back to Donald Trump, who thanked everybody there for the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting.
“So, in the room there was great spirit, great unity that was reflected across the piece, and so far as funding is concerned, as I say, speaking only for the United Kingdom.
“President Trump thanked us for the contribution we made, actually, over many years in material terms.
“Mark Rutte thanked us particularly for the Dip further investment, and I had no discussion with Donald Trump in which he made any issue with me in relation to the defence spending for the United Kingdom.”
Ministers insist that the next spending review will set out the path to reach the spending target, but that will be a decision for Andy Burnham who is set to enter No 10 in less than two weeks.
Earlier, on arrival at the presidential palace in Ankara, the Prime Minister said the gathering would prove to be “very important” against the background of the Ukraine war and the US conflict with Iran.
He said: “It’s very important that, as leaders, we show the unity and the strength of Nato at a time like this, and that’s what we’ll do at this summit here this morning.”
At Wednesday’s summit, Sir Keir unveiled a partnership of around 12 European nations who had agreed to spend a total of 50 billion dollars (£37 billion) developing long-range missiles.
So-called “deep precision strike” missiles, including the British-made Storm Shadow, have proved crucial in the Ukraine war, allowing Ukrainian forces to hit targets far beyond the front line.
The European commitment brings together several projects, including a joint UK-German effort to develop hypersonic long-range missiles and work with Italy and France on the Stratus missile.
The announcement does not involve all the nations involved working on a single weapon, but officials said the move would prevent duplication among allies, with nations working on different types of missiles.
