Spanish authorities said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump had softened his rhetoric towards the country as he had been informed of a surge in Madrid's contributions to NATO in recent years, Reuters reported.
He also stated the US's readiness to continue selling weapons to its allies, regardless of how they are used
At the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump called Spain a "terrible partner" and ordered an immediate halt to all trade with the country after disputes over defense spending and the war with Iran.
On his way back to the United States after the summit, he told reporters aboard Air Force One: "I had problems and I still have them. But Spain, they just came back today. Spain was very generous today."
When asked what Spain had done, he replied: "They have accepted a request for many payments and if they had not, we would not even be talking to them."
A spokesman for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this was understood to be a reference to Madrid's compliance with NATO's previous target of 2% of GDP for defense spending.
At the summit, Sanchez stressed that Spain would meet that target this year, having more than doubled its nominal defense spending from 0.98% of GDP in 2017 to nearly 33 billion euros. He downplayed the rift and said he had had a "very cordial" conversation with Trump during the summit.
But Trump has repeatedly criticized Spain for not agreeing to a new goal for NATO member states to spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2035. Spain’s leftist government says it wants to respond to real threats, not increase spending because of threats, as that would mean cuts to social benefits.
It was not immediately clear what Trump’s softening of rhetoric might mean about his threat to halt trade.
When asked about the next steps following Trump’s directive, a U.S. official in Washington told Reuters that relevant federal agencies would present Trump with a “menu” of options. of Spanish products that could be under embargo.
According to the Spanish government's agenda, Defense Minister Margarita Robles was due to meet U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Leon later on Thursday for a "working meeting," without providing further details.
Sources in the Spanish delegation in Ankara, quoted by El Mundo, said Madrid had likened the dispute to a staged battle without an actual conflict and that Spanish authorities had not noticed any economic fallout or a drop in investment in Spain in recent years, despite Trump's criticism.
Some figures in the main opposition Popular Party (PP) blamed Sanchez for the dispute but said they supported their country.
A senior PP official stressed the interdependence between Spanish and U.S. firms, meaning that "economic reality takes precedence over the high-flown statements that Trump is making to attack Spain".
In the Popular Party-ruled region of Aragon - where major US tech firms including Amazon and Microsoft have invested billions of dollars in data centres - officials said it was business as usual.
Santiago Abascal - a Trump ally who leads the far-right Vox party - said tensions with Washington were "absolutely dramatic" and accused Sanchez of "destroying Spain's credibility on the world stage.".