NATO’s Rutte on Trump:

I just like the man.

I think what he is doing for NATO is great news because, yes, there is a Russian threat, there is Ukraine, so we had to step up in Europe anyway.

But he was what was necessary to bring this extra impetus to the debate, to really get all these nations from 2% and now to agree to the 5%.

As I said yesterday in the press conference, Canada and Europeans are now already at almost 4% when it comes to defense spending.

So, in one year, on this trajectory to 5% in 2035, we reach the 4% in 2026.

Source: Politico

NATO’s Rutte on Trump and Greenland:

The President was right. There is an issue in the Arctic when it comes to China and Russia trying to gain access. We need to make sure that the Arctic stays safe.

And it was a good discussion, because obviously Denmark is a sovereign country, Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and we have to make sure that whatever investments the United States will make on Greenland.

These investments are there to stay valid also if Greenland would change its constitutional position within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Source: Politico

An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an unidentified projectile, causing structural damage.

Nigel Farage resigned as MP for Clacton after revealing he's facing a second parliamentary investigation over allegedly undeclared financial gifts.

He says the probes are an "establishment" attack, denies wrongdoing, and will immediately contest the resulting by-election to seek a fresh mandate from voters.

Netanyahu visited the Haifa naval base, received an operational briefing, and met with sailors.

He said the Israeli Navy's mission is to "secure the shipping routes and freedom of maritime trade", calling them "so important to the State of Israel."

Ukrainian police found Monaco bombing suspect shot dead, arresting an intelligence officer in connection with her murder.

▪️Woman was found with fatal head wounds
▪️Serving intel officer and ex-cop detained
▪️Crypto transfers and torture room discovered

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Zelensky:

I want to thank President Erdogan personally for the invitation to the NATO Summit.

Trump Pledges to Lift Defense Sanctions on Türkiye, Wants to Reinstate F-35 Program

The US president announced plans to lift CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye while praising Turkish military strength and confirmed Washington will reconsider F-35 combat aircraft sales.

READ MORE

WATCH: Close-up view of the welcoming ceremony by President Erdogan for Trump in Ankara.

French President Macron:

I believe Syria deserves to remain united, with respect for all of its people, in all of their diversity.

That unity must first be preserved by the Syrian people themselves and for the Syrian people.

I think it would be a mistake to believe that one component of the Syrian people can succeed against another—especially when such ideas are promoted from abroad.

Finland President Alexander Stubb:

We’ve been very naive and very spoiled in Europe, thinking that we are just secure and nothing’s going to happen to our continent.

And we’ve seen several wars on our continent and outside our continent. But also the threat of being.

Earlier we had the gas crisis. Now we’re overdependent on technologies or medication coming from China.

So the shift in mindset in Europe is mainly about: let’s be aware of the fact that there are so many topics that could threaten our way of living, could be a threat to our economy, could be a threat to our security.

French President Macron in Damascus:

We undertook this trip fully aware of the circumstances. On the French side, we were prepared; on the Syrian side, everything was also organized.

We are under no illusions about the risks, nor about the determination of certain groups to prevent Syria's full return to the community of nations.

We must not allow ourselves to be destabilized or distracted from the importance of the path we are taking.

So we move forward.

WATCH: Sudan Army’s AKINCI drone shot down yet another Chinese-made CH-95 drone supplied to the RSF terror group by the UAE.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa with Macron:

I want to salute President Macron for his courage.

As soon as news of the explosions reached him, he immediately declared that the visit would continue and that its program would go ahead as planned.

Certainly, there are many people who are harmed by Syria's success today.

There are those who wanted this country to remain in ruin and destruction, and they are troubled by what Syria is achieving.

The investigations are currently underway, and I believe that, very soon, those responsible for this heinous criminal act will be arrested.

This attack only increases the determination and resolve of the Syrian state—and of everyone who supports it—to continue moving forward with rebuilding Syria.

French President Macron in Damascus:

More than €50 million resulting from the seizure of assets illegally acquired by the family of the former dictator will be returned to Syria.

We are the first country to have carried this legal action through to its conclusion, and we will continue wherever such action is possible.

These funds will be returned to the Syrian people to finance concrete development projects across the country.

French President Macron:

We believe that Syria must be fully sovereign and united, and that all those occupying its territory must leave.

French President Macron:

We apply the same principle everywhere. It is the principle we have defended over the past years in Iraq, through the Baghdad Conferences for Iraqi sovereignty.

It is the principle we defend for Lebanon. It is the principle we defend for Syria. It is the principle we defend for Palestine.

There are no double standards. Otherwise, what credibility would France have when it defends Ukraine's sovereignty against Russia?

That is why we also ask leaders such as President al-Sharaa and others to stand with us in understanding the principles we defend in Ukraine.

The principles of international law do not change according to latitude or longitude.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker:

I know I’m saying something that politicians do not want to hear, maybe, but we have to stop sort of looking at defense investments as a burden to society.

If we have decided somehow that we have this threat environment for a long, unpredictable time, let’s do the best of that, because it is actually extremely good engineering. It is GDP-creating. It is tech spin-off-creating activity.

And we can actually—because the interface between civilian capabilities and military or defense-industry capability is now becoming less and less obvious—we can do so much more if we decide to say that, okay, this is actually the future.

And I think some countries like Germany have really gone that direction by actually almost replacing automotive capability industry with defense industries.

French President Macron in Damascus:

We want the French-speaking Christian schools in Syria that the former regime forced to close to reopen.

Finland President Alexander Stubb:

Well, we have to be more independent in some cases. If you, for example, look at storage of personal data, obviously a lot of Europeans are angry that their personal data is stored outside of the EU.

So we have to build our own data centers and our own AI factories so we can actually own the data of our own citizens.

But in the end, there is no such thing as European full autonomy. You will always need to collaborate with our friends in Canada, in the US, in other partnerships around the world.

ASML and other tech companies can play a crucial role both in the US and here.

WATCH: The moment Turkish President Erdogan heard Trump was going to lift the CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye.