NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at a press conference in Ankara that he expects all member states to present a concrete and convincing plan to reach defense spending of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to him, this is a commitment agreed at the previous Alliance summit in The Hague, and its implementation is already starting to yield visible results, BTA reports.
Rutte pointed out that in 2025, European allies and Canada increased their defense spending by nearly 20% compared to the previous year. In his words, this means additional investments of $258 billion in 2025 and 2026 alone.
“Here in Ankara, I expect countries to present a clear, concrete and credible plan to achieve the 5 percent target“, said the Secretary General, emphasizing that these investments also stimulate economic development.
The NATO summit is taking place on July 7 and 8 at the “Beştepe“ presidential complex in Ankara. The leaders of 32 member states and over 100 ministers are arriving in the Turkish capital. Among the participants is Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day.
US President Donald Trump is also expected to arrive in Ankara, accompanied by a delegation of about 1,400 people. The main topics of the forum include the war in Ukraine, the threat from Russia, the development of the defense industry and the adoption of the “NATO 3.0“ strategy, which provides for the distribution of various tasks among the allies.
Rutte also announced that during the defense industry forum, which will be held within the framework of the summit, new contracts worth tens of billions will be announced.
According to him, Turkey's defense industry is attracting serious international interest, including from the United States and European countries.
“Turkey's defense industry supports so many countries. Look at the countries around us – there was a very successful visit here from Belgium, Poland, but also the United States. They also have a lot of investments in companies based overseas. This is really important – to work together on the Alliance's lines," he said.
The NATO Secretary General confirmed that he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara tomorrow. He reiterated the need for Ukraine to receive additional support to protect its airspace and identified Russia as a continuing threat.
“What happened last night was a chaotic attack on innocent civilians, infrastructure and cities in Ukraine. People lost their lives. But Russia can never win this war this way,“ Rutte said.
During the press conference, he was also asked about the state of democracy in Turkey.
“Democracy is much more than elections. In democracy, they are of great importance, but it also means freedom of speech. Just like here you can ask all your questions and write whatever you want, do investigations. At the same time, democracy is also about the right of people to organize protests if they want to“, the Secretary General commented.
His statement comes a day after Turkish authorities detained nearly 100 people from the Turkish Communist Party who protested against the summit, and demonstrations related to the event were banned.
In conclusion, Rutte called for unity within the Alliance and said that NATO is more resilient today than it was five years ago.
“In an Alliance like NATO, there have always been political discussions and sometimes disagreement. This is normal for democratic alliances. We have a common goal - to defend our territories against Russia, terrorism and all other threats that face us. We can argue, no problem, but let's solve the issues together“, the Secretary General said.