Sir Keir Starmer said Nato is “stronger and more united” coming out of the Ankara summit, with Donald Trump praising its “spirit”, despite the US president’s criticism of the alliance threatening to overshadow the meeting.
The Prime Minister said leaders “achieved what we wanted to achieve, which is unity”, even after Mr Trump earlier threatened to relate his problems, including over Greenland and Iran, at the meeting.
Mr Trump berated European states for failing to pay enough for defence, 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.
Suggestions that Mr Trump might confront Sir Keir about the absence of a clear path to reaching that target in last week’s Defence Investment Plan (Dip) did not materialise, according to Sir Keir.
“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,” the Prime Minister said.
He also insisted he had “always got on” with the US president, even after facing repeated criticism from him.
Before the summit, Mr Trump again lashed out at the UK’s refusal to allow Washington to use British bases to launch strikes against Iran at the beginning of the war.
Mr Trump reiterated his claim that Greenland, which belongs to Nato ally Denmark, should be part of the US, and hit out at allies for failing to support his war against Tehran.
Sir Keir, who sat next to Mr Trump at the gathering of the North Atlantic Council, afterwards said Mr Trump hailed the “unity of the meeting”.
The Prime Minister told reporters: “At the end, President Trump summed up and said that he was very pleased and welcomed the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting.
“And therefore, in terms of what’s the outcome here, and answering that question, is Nato stronger and more united coming out this summit?
“Then the answer is yes to that.”
He added: “This has been a good summit.
“We achieved what we wanted to achieve, which is unity.
“So important we have that, particularly with the conflicts going on in Ukraine and the conflicts in Iran.”
Pressed on defence spending plans amid accusations at home that he had arrived at the summit empty-handed, Sir Keir stressed that “the capability that the UK provides to Nato”, including through its nuclear deterrent, was “highly valued”.
He also said: “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.
On his relationship with the US leader, the outgoing Prime Minister said: “We’ve always got on as two individuals” and that Mr Trump had wished him well.
Noting the importance of strong ties for the two countries’ defence, security and intelligence, Sir Keir added: “I’m glad that that’s what I’ve been able to achieve.”
At Wednesday’s summit, Sir Keir signed a defence agreement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which paves the way for further engagement and intelligence sharing between the two nations.
The Prime Minister also 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.
But amid calls to increase defence spending even further, Sir Keir warned against increasing borrowing to pay for the armed forces.
Senior defence officials have suggested defence bonds, something Sir Keir ruled out when he announced the Dip last week, could be a way to forward.
However, Sir Keir told reporters at the Nato summit that the level of debt repayments the UK already faces meant further borrowing was “not for me the sensible place to go for extra defence money”.
He added that as any increase in defence spending was “real” it needed a “proper foundation”.
He said: “You’ve got to have a proper platform to stand on, and this is not a temporary thing for which you might borrow and pay off.
“This is a real thing that’s got to be paid for for the duration.”
Looking to his future, Sir Keir also declined to rule out a bid for the role of secretary-general of Nato once Mr Rutte’s tenure ends.
Asked about speculation he wanted the job, he said: “I am focusing all my attention on the job I have at the moment, which is to discharge my services to my country until I leave office, and I’m not thinking about what comes next until I have discharged that duty.”
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