According to Reuters report on July 17, Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez and U.S. President Trump will meet again during the World Cup finals on Sunday. The Spanish Prime Minister’s office stated on Friday that Sánchez would travel to New Jersey, USA to watch the match. If Spain defeats Argentina, Trump may award a trophy to Spain after the match.
The Spanish royal family will also be present at the finals. King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, and Princess Sofia will all sit in VIP booths with the Sanchez family.
Meanwhile, the tensions between the leaders of the United States and Spain regarding defense spending and the war with Iran continue to escalate.
Spain is the only NATO member country that has not pledged to increase its defense spending to 5% of its GDP by 2035. Last year, other NATO members committed themselves to this goal. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Spanish government for this and has threatened to take trade retaliation measures.
During the last NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month, Trump instructed his advisors to “cut off all trade relations with Spain, including visits by personnel”.
However, Trump later softened his tone, stating that Spain had fulfilled its payment obligations and that it was “very generous.” The Sanchez government interpreted this statement as an acknowledgment by the US side of Spain’s achievement in meeting the agreed goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense.
Sanchez said that Spain sought to maintain as good relations with its allies as possible. He noted that the two leaders had an informal and friendly conversation during the summit, focusing on matters such as the World Cup.
