NATO unity on the line

NATO leaders will attempt to make a convincing show of unity on Wednesday when they meet to conclude a summit already overshadowed by bitter rows about the future of the alliance.

Last year, the Western allies’ get-together was derailed by US President Donald Trump’s demand for greater European defence spending, but 2019’s provocateur was France’s Emmanuel Macron.

The French president has called for a renewed strategic dialogue with Moscow and demanded that Turkey explain itself over its assault -- backed by Syrian rebels Paris sees as extremists -- on Kurdish forces and its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system.

The leaders met in various groups in London on Tuesday before having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace, but Macron refused to withdraw his charge that NATO strategy is “brain dead” and

Trump continued to insist some capitals were “delinquent” in paying their way.

The row set up a tense last day of what NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg had hoped would be a 70th anniversary show of unity for the “most successful military alliance in history”, and a demonstration that the West can stand up to challenges from Russia and China.