NATO is considering cancelling next year’s annual summit, which had been expected to take place in Albania, partly in an effort to reduce tensions with Donald Trump and avoid highlighting the host country’s low defence spending, Bloomberg reported.

The debate over whether to scrap the annual gathering has intensified this week, as NATO leaders met in Ankara for a summit already overshadowed by the US president’s latest criticism of the alliance, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Trump said he had travelled to the Turkish capital because of his warm relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while again criticising NATO and questioning its usefulness.

According to Bloomberg, the US president’s repeated attacks on the alliance have made it more likely that next year’s summit in Albania could be postponed, in order to avoid giving him another high-profile platform from which to criticise allies. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.

Albania is also among the NATO members that have lagged behind on defence spending. Until recently, it had failed to meet the alliance’s long-standing target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, an issue that could draw renewed criticism from Trump if the country hosts the next leaders’ meeting.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is said to favour keeping the annual summit format, as a way of maintaining the alliance’s visibility and keeping NATO high on the global agenda. In Ankara, he sought to underline the sharp increases in defence spending by European allies and Canada, in an apparent effort to reassure Trump.

The final communiqué from the Ankara summit, due to be approved by leaders on Wednesday, does not include a reference to the next summit, according to a person familiar with the text.

“The summit will be held in Albania; whether it will take place next year or the year after is still under discussion,” Bloomberg quoted NATO’s top military official, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, as saying.