Spain's PM gets 'the Trump handshake' in first meet since Nato threat

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday met with US President Donald Trump for the first time since the US leader proposed expelling Spain from Nato.

In the first public encounter since Trump returned to the White House and just four days after the President's Nato threat, the two met in Egypt to sign the Gaza peace agreement and shared a brief handshake.

READ ALSO: Trump says Spain should be 'thrown out' of Nato over low defence spend

In typically Trump style, the US President turned the moment into a physical power play, pulling Sánchez towards him before releasing his hand. Sánchez, for his part, opted for a diplomatic smile, grinning but looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Despite body language experts in the Spanish press trying to decipher the very brief encounter, Sánchez and the Spanish diplomatic core will on the whole be relieved no major incident occurred so shortly after such provocative comments by Trump.

The two have disagreed on two major issues since the President's second administration began back in January. Sánchez has been one one of Europe's most vocally pro-Palestinian leaders, but has also dragged his feet on committing to increased Nato spending, stating that the 5 percent of GDP demand does not make sense for the Spanish economy.

This has not gone unnoticed in Washington. "We had one laggard, it was Spain," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week, referring to other Nato member states boosting their contribution as a proportion of GDP. "They have no excuse not to do this, but that's all right. Maybe you should throw them out of Nato frankly," he added, causing a commotion in the Spanish press.

Months earlier, during a NATO summit, Trump claimed that Spain was "a problem when it comes to NATO spending" and threatened a trade war to make it pay "double" if it did not sign up to the spending commitment. "NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. It has paid too little. Either it has been a good negotiator or it has not done the right thing," he added.

READ ALSO: Trump threatens to double tariffs on Spain amid Nato spending clash

However, after their brief encounter in Egypt on Monday, Trump spoke positively of Sánchez, suggesting that the President had either forgotten about his comments, which is not implausible, moved on from them, or was being diplomatic, something he is more than capable of when necessary.

Later in a speech, Trump thanked the assembled leaders one by one. When he turned and addressed Sánchez, he stated that Spain is "doing a fantastic job", but did take the opportunity to question him on defence spending.

"Are you working here on the issue of GDP?" Trump said, somewhat light heartedly. "We'll get to that. You are doing a fantastic job."

Trump and Sánchez previously met in 2019 in Osaka for a G20 meeting. They also met in 2018 in New York for a celebration of the United Nations General Assembly.

Sources from the Spanish delegation reported at the time that the contact between Trump and Sánchez, who have never held a bilateral meeting, was limited to a ceremonial greeting at a reception, similar to what reports suggest the meeting in Egypt was.

READ MORE: Is Spain's Nato defence spend really as low as Trump claims?