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Spain Says Trump Softened Rhetoric After Learning of Madrid’s Contributions to NATO

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at Ankara Airport ahead of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at Ankara Airport ahead of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Spain Says Trump Softened Rhetoric After Learning of Madrid’s Contributions to NATO

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at Ankara Airport ahead of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at Ankara Airport ahead of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Madrid said on Thursday US President Donald Trump had softened his rhetoric on Spain, hours after threatening to halt trade with the NATO ally, because he had been made aware of a surge in Madrid's contributions to the alliance in recent years.

At a NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump called Spain a "terrible partner" and ordered an immediate halt to all trade with the country after disputes over defense spending and the Iran war.

On his way back to the United States after the summit, he told reporters aboard Air Force One: "I did have issues, and I still do. But Spain, they came back all the way today. Spain was very generous today."

Asked what Spain had done, ‌he said: "They honored ‌a request for lots of payments, and if they didn't, we ‌wouldn't ⁠have even talked to ⁠them."

A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this was understood to be a reference to Madrid complying with NATO's former defense spending target of 2% of GDP.

At the summit, Sanchez highlighted that Spain would reach that goal this year after more than doubling nominal defense spending from 0.98% of GDP in 2017 to nearly €33 billion ($37.7 billion).

He played down the rift and said he had a "very cordial" conversation with Trump during the summit.

But Trump has repeatedly criticized Spain for not agreeing to a new objective ⁠for NATO member states to spend 5% of GDP on defense by ‌2035. Spain's left-wing government says it wants to respond to ‌real threats rather than increasing spending for the sake of it, as that would imply cuts to ‌social benefits.

It was not immediately clear what the softening of Trump's rhetoric might mean for his ‌threat to halt trade.

Asked about the next steps following Trump's directive, a US official in Washington told Reuters the relevant federal agencies would present Trump with a "menu" of Spanish products that may be embargoed.

Trade lawyers say Trump could invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose a full or partial embargo on Spanish imports. ‌Trump's first administration imposed a 30% anti-dumping tariff on Spanish black olives in 2018.

OPPOSITION CRITICISM

According to the Spanish government's agenda, Defense Minister Margarita Robles ⁠was set to meet ⁠with US Ambassador Benjamin Leon later on Thursday for a "working meeting", without providing further details.

Sources in the Spanish delegation to Ankara cited by El Mundo said Madrid likened the dispute to a staged fight lacking actual conflict and that Spanish officials had not detected any economic consequences or a decline in investment in Spain in recent years despite Trump's criticisms.

Some figures in the main opposition People's Party (PP) blamed Sanchez for the spat but said they stood with their country.

A senior PP official highlighted the interdependence between Spanish and US firms, which meant "economic reality takes precedence over the grandiloquent statements (Trump) seeks to make in order to attack Spain".

In the PP-run region of Aragon - where big US tech firms including Amazon and Microsoft have invested billions of dollars in data centers - officials said it was business as usual.

Santiago Abascal - a Trump ally who leads far-right party Vox - said the tensions with Washington were "absolutely dramatic" and accused Sanchez of "destroying Spain's credibility on the world stage".

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World

Landfill Collapse Kills 30 in Guinea

Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Landfill Collapse Kills 30 in Guinea

Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Thirty people died in Guinea's capital Conakry on Sunday when a mound of rubbish in a landfill collapsed before dawn onto neighboring homes following heavy rains, the government said.

Six others were seriously injured in the 2:00 am (0200 GMT) incident in the Bbessia district's Dar-es-salam neighborhood on the capital's outskirts, a government statement said.

Neighborhood leader Lancine Sylla had previously told AFP that he feared a heavy toll.

"We have pulled out 18 bodies that were taken to the morgue," he told AFP.

Guinea's minister for territorial administration Djenabou Toure went to the scene of the accident, where AFP photographers saw excavators take part in a search-and-rescue operation through the collapsed landfill under the gaze of a crowd of onlookers.

In recent days, the government had ordered the expulsion of people and safety measures around the site because of fears of a collapse.

World

French Ambassador to Asharq Al-Awsat: Mohammed bin Salman’s Visit Paves Way for New Phase of Strategic Partnership

Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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French Ambassador to Asharq Al-Awsat: Mohammed bin Salman’s Visit Paves Way for New Phase of Strategic Partnership

Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).

A senior French official stressed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to France on Sunday means, in short, that Riyadh and Paris are entering a new phase of a genuine strategic partnership. He said the visit will address diplomacy, security, defense, investment, energy, culture, technology, and education.

Patrick Maisonnave, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the momentum is now being further strengthened through the visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to France and the first meeting of the French-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council.

According to Maisonnave, the council is particularly important because it provides a permanent institutional framework for this political ambition, allowing both countries to set priorities, measure progress, and develop long-term cooperation across the main pillars of the relationship.

He added that as the two countries seek to keep pace with profound geopolitical, economic, and technological changes, Mohammed bin Salman’s visit demonstrates a shared determination to move from a very strong bilateral partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

He continued by saying that the readiness of the two leaderships to work together is not limited to bilateral issues, but also extends to regional stability, global challenges, and the major transformations shaping their societies, as the partnership enters a new phase with this visit.

He explained that the transformation Saudi Arabia is undergoing under Vision 2030, together with France’s strengths in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, culture, innovation, artificial intelligence, education, and creative industries, is creating new areas for convergence.

He stressed that the strategic dimension of the partnership lies precisely in this development, moving from a relationship based on strong cooperation to one increasingly grounded in shared objectives, long-term planning, and joint initiatives.

A Convergence Resilient to Challenges

Maisonnave affirmed that Riyadh and Paris have a well-established partnership and mutual trust that enable them to overcome the geopolitical challenges facing the region. He noted that the bilateral convergence translates into close coordination on the region’s most prominent crises.

He added that Paris and Riyadh are working together to support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and create the necessary political conditions for lasting peace. The two countries also share an interest in Yemen’s stability and in protecting freedom of navigation and the security of strategic maritime routes.

According to Maisonnave, the two countries support efforts to end the devastating war in Sudan and preserve the country’s unity and institutions. They also support Syria’s sovereignty, unity, and recovery, as well as the establishment of a stronger Lebanese state capable of exercising its authority, while reducing external interference and the influence of non-state armed groups.

He continued by saying that France and Saudi Arabia naturally have their own interests and perspectives, but have developed the ability to engage in frank dialogue, particularly during periods of regional tension and profound international changes. This has enabled the relationship not only to endure, but also to continually reinvent itself.

Ambassador Maisonnave said the distinctive nature of the Saudi-French relationship lies in its rare combination of historical depth, political trust, and a shared ability to look to the future. Over the past century, he explained, the two countries have built a relationship based on mutual respect, continuous dialogue, and, most importantly, strategic autonomy.

He added that the relationship is no longer defined solely by its history or traditional areas of cooperation. Instead, it is increasingly focused on what the two countries can build together over the coming decades. French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December 2024 was a landmark moment that gave new political momentum to bilateral relations.

He attributed the resilience of bilateral relations since their establishment in 1926 to the fact that their strength lies in a century of accumulated trust, sustained political engagement at the highest levels, and a determination to adapt the partnership to each new historical period, despite some turning points along the way.

Maisonnave added that since diplomatic relations were established in 1926, France and Saudi Arabia have steadily expanded the scope of their cooperation. The relationship has accompanied the transformation of the Kingdom itself while responding at the same time to successive regional and international challenges. After 100 years, he said, the relationship is broader and deeper than at any previous stage in its history.

He continued by saying that this continuity is particularly evident today in diplomatic cooperation. At a time when the Middle East is going through one of its most significant periods of transformation, France and Saudi Arabia share a fundamental objective: preventing instability from becoming permanent and restoring the priority of diplomacy, state sovereignty, and international law.

Of particular importance, according to Maisonnave, is that this diplomatic coordination is developing alongside an equally deep economic and societal partnership. France is accompanying the transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030 in areas ranging from investment and energy to culture, tourism, technology, education, and human capital development.

In his view, this gives the relationship an unprecedented scope, noting that strategic dialogue at the highest political levels is reinforced by growing ties between the two countries’ economies, institutions, and societies.

He also noted that the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations represents more than a commemoration of the past. It symbolizes the transition from one chapter to another in the history of the relationship.

Maisonnave explained that the first 100 years established and laid the foundations for a relationship based on trust. He stressed that the next 100 years must build on this legacy, making France and Saudi Arabia not merely partners in a changing world, but partners in shaping the future.

World

Zelensky Rejects Wartime Elections, Says Would 'Split' Ukraine

(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
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Zelensky Rejects Wartime Elections, Says Would 'Split' Ukraine

(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Sunday that it would be too dangerous for Ukraine to hold an election while it fights Russia's invasion, after a call by his former defense minister to organize a vote.

"I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine," Zelensky said in the comments.

Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law, a measure still widely supported by the population as the country focuses on fighting off Russian forces.

"If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war," the 48-year-old leader added.

He held a briefing with a group of journalists including AFP on Saturday, the first in months amid several political crises.

The latest upheaval saw thousands take to the streets after Zelensky fired his defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

The ousted Fedorov this week made a surprise call to find a way to organize a vote - but without offering a roadmap, and prompting even some of his supporters to distance themselves from him.

Experts have cited a flurry of obstacles, including how soldiers, millions of Ukrainian refugees and people from occupied territories would vote, as well as disinformation threats from Russia.

Only 15 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the end of hostilities, according to a poll by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology.

Zelensky made numerous jab at his opponent during the briefing.

"I believe he is going himself -- or is being pushed - toward wrong things," Zelensky said of Fedorov.

The former minister had pushed for reforms but clashed with the military's command and their traditionally stiff approach.

The public initially took his side and pushed for the dismissal of commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky.

Zelensky said people had the right to protest but warned against "disrespectful" attitudes to military people.

"Since when has marketing started to outweigh the people who are giving their lives?" he said.

After a political crisis that had weakened him, Zelensky was able to cast himself as a rampart against division.

"I believe that society and soldiers must not be divided," he said, "We must acknowledge that there is this risk -- that there may be movement in that direction, toward dangerous developments."