2019 London summit
# 2019 London summit

The 2019 London Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the 30th formal meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was held in The Grove, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom, on 3 and 4 December 2019.

It also marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO.

## Leaders and other dignitaries in attendance

### Member states

| Albania – Prime Minister Edi Rama  Belgium – Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès  Bulgaria – President Rumen Radev  Canada – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  Croatia – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković  Czech Republic – President Miloš Zeman  Denmark – Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen  Estonia – Prime Minister Jüri Ratas  France – President Emmanuel Macron  Germany – Chancellor Angela Merkel  Greece – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis  Hungary – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán  Iceland – Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir  Italy – Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte  Latvia – President Egils Levits | Lithuania – President Gitanas Nausėda  Luxembourg – Prime Minister Xavier Bettel  Montenegro – Prime Minister Duško Marković  Netherlands – Prime Minister Mark Rutte  Norway – Prime Minister Erna Solberg  Poland – President Andrzej Duda  Portugal – Prime Minister António Costa  Romania – President Klaus Iohannis  Slovakia – President Zuzana Čaputová  Slovenia – Prime Minister Marjan Šarec  Spain – Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez  Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  United Kingdom – Prime Minister Boris Johnson  United States – President Donald Trump  NATO – Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg |
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### Non-member states and organisations

* North Macedonia – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev

## Controversies

U.S. President Donald Trump said French President Emmanuel Macron's November comment that NATO was in a state of "brain death" for its reaction to the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria was "very, very nasty." The two leaders disagreed about terrorism, trade, and France's contributions to NATO's budget. Trump mentioned the possibility of France "breaking off" from NATO, although Macron made no such suggestion.

Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not meet because Johnson was concerned about Trump's possible interference with the 12 December UK general election.

While meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump complained that Canada is "slightly delinquent" in its contribution to NATO because it pays less than 2% of its GDP on the military. The two leaders had a friendly discussion about the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Later, during a reception at Buckingham Palace, Trudeau, Johnson, Macron, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte seemed to mock Trump because of a 45-minute press conference. In turn, Trump called Trudeau, "two-faced," referencing Canada's military spending.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted that NATO members formally recognize the Kurdish YPG as a terrorist organization. Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also met to discuss a contentious maritime agreement signed between Turkey and Libya for the definition of maritime zones in the Eastern Mediterranean.

## Other

Due to its political crisis, Spain was the last country left to approve North Macedonia's NATO membership; nonetheless, North Macedonia was given a seat at the summit alongside other members and represented by a delegation headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania. At the NATO London summit, constructive discussions were held by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama with Macron, Trump, Trudeau, Johnson and other European leaders over establishing an international conference for financial aid.

