European Union President Donald Tusk delivered a blunt message to US President Donald Trump today on the eve of a NATO summit in Brussels, telling him to "appreciate your allies".
Trump has ramped up criticism of European defence spending in recent days, stressing how many EU members are failing to meet agreed targets for investments, which has raised fears the NATO summit could lead to another bust-up in the transatlantic alliance.
Speaking at a signing ceremony for a new EU-NATO cooperation agreement, Tusk used the opportunity to send a personal message to Trump, who is due to arrive in the Belgian capital later today.
"I would like to address president Trump directly who for a long time now has been criticising Europe almost daily," the former Polish prime minister said.
"The US doesn't have and won't have a better ally than the EU. We spend on defence much more than Russia and as much as China," he added. "Dear America, appreciate your allies, after all you don't have that many."