09 July 2026

NATO allies demonstrated solidarity as the Ankara summit wrapped up. The concluding statement highlights that Europe and Canada will take on more of the defense responsibilities going forward. Strategies were outlined for substantial funding in the defense sector and updating the military capabilities of member nations. Additionally, 140 billion euros in military support over two years was committed to Ukraine. Various media outlets offer their assessments.

Open/close all quotes

Political scientist Linas Kojala offers a summary for Delfi:

“The NATO summit ended with something that we can no longer take for granted: unity. This does not mean there are no more tensions within the alliance. ... The political atmosphere remains turbulent, even chaotic. But the key message remains: no matter how tumultuous the situation, NATO will find a way forward. America's signature on the final declaration signals that the US does not wish to withdraw completely, despite the shift in responsibilities within the alliance. ... All the predictions about 'the death of NATO' are greatly exaggerated.”

Yet Handelsblatt notes that little is left of the alliance's former character:

“Yet again, the irascible president has made no secret of his contempt for the transatlantic partners - no matter how much the Europeans might try to placate him. ... So we are left asking how much remains of the Western defence alliance, when no one this side of the Atlantic can trust the Americans' commitment to it. The mutual defence obligation under Article 5 is a fragile seedling that is less rooted in a NATO Treaty clause than in the trust between partners who once shared the same values. That trust, however, has long since been destroyed.”

El Mundo expresses satisfaction with the results:

“The NATO summit in Ankara has concluded with more positive than negative results. At a time when Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the US from the transatlantic alliance, it has managed to preserve its political unity, at least for the time being. The most important benefit for Europe is that it has bought time to continue rearming without being abandoned by its main protector to face the existential threat of Russia alone. … Trump is and will remain a constant source of uncertainty. This forces Europe to pursue, with more resolution and speed, the path of political unity and military autonomy promoted - paradoxically - by Trump.”

Avvenire voices deep concern over the new focus on militarisation:

“The poster boy for this is Mark Rutte. He nods enthusiastically when Donald Trump takes credit for new strikes on Iran. He smiles approvingly when the tycoon lays into Spain, despite it being a member of the alliance. And above all, he speaks about a trillion-dollar arms deal with an almost boyish enthusiasm. He waxes lyrical about next-generation ammunition, drones, frigates, missiles… But Rutte is merely the tip of the iceberg of a brand of fanaticism that is proving difficult to contain. Even the leaderships of European institutions are not holding back. ... It's as if all awareness of the gravity of the issue and of the historical moment in which we find ourselves has been completely lost.”

Ankara's real achievement at the summit is not diplomatic but economic, Milliyet writes:

“Because in the new neo-mercantilist era, security and economics have become inseparable. The arms industry, technology, energy, artificial intelligence and supply chains are now all interlinked. If Turkey can stay ahead of the game in this transformation and convert its geopolitical advantage into an economic model that produces high-tech goods, boosts exports and moves up the global value chain, the truly lasting benefits of this summit will be economic, not diplomatic.”

Ukraine scored big time at the summit, notes Corriere della Sera:

“A year-and-a-half ago Volodomyr Zelensky was humiliated by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in the White House. ... The Ukrainian people, their armed forces, and their technological ingenuity have since shifted the balance of power on the ground - and such things always make an impact on Trump. The Pentagon was the first to see that Ukraine was a strategic resource, and became a customer of Kyiv in order to secure knowledge in the drone sector. ... In Ankara, Trump even went so far as to suggest granting a licence that would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles domestically. ... This is a remarkable turnaround.”