NATO

Key Nato summit to open amid Trump isolationism and nose-diving support among members

On the eve of a major Nato defence ministers’ summit in Brussels, malaise and uncertainty hung over the 29-member alliance.

Donald Trump is demanding members of Nato take up more tasks and burdens of the alliance, even as his own supporters lose enthusiasm and Washington increasingly takes up a go-it-alone strategy in key conflicts.

Germany and France are losing faith, while Poland, the Baltic states and others on the front lines against Russia are clinging to Nato, according to a survey released this week.

Turkey, which boasts the alliance’s second largest land force, remains the member state most unhappy with it, even as the US sticks up for the country in its confrontation against Russian-backed forces in Syria.

The Nato defence chiefs are coming together in Brussels this week for the first time since a tense meeting in London late last year, which descended into a secondary school comedy after several leaders were taped mocking president Donald Trump, who stormed out of the gathering.