The two-day NATO summit in Ankara ended with several concrete commitments and with ups and downs in US President Donald Trump's irritation with his NATO allies, whom he accuses of not investing enough in defense and of not helping the US in the war in Iran, summarized world agencies, including Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press.
Declaration
The summit ended, as usual, with the adoption of a declaration. In it, the Alliance countries declare their unwavering commitment to adhere to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, world agencies reported.
The countries also declare a specific intention to provide financial support to Ukraine in the amount of 140 billion euros for the current and next year. The assistance of 70 billion euros for the current year will be mainly provided by the European NATO member states, as well as by Canada, at a time when the United States has significantly reduced financial support for Kiev, DPA notes.
In the declaration from the meeting, the Alliance countries also point out that Russia continues to be a long-term threat.
The declaration also states that the NATO countries demand that Iran fully respect the right to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Alliance countries also declare their intention to continue the fight against terrorism.
However, there was one surprise in the text of the declaration. There was no mention of where or when the next NATO summit would be held, Reuters notes.
Bulgaria at the summit
Bulgaria was represented at the summit by Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Within the framework of the forum, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey agreed to expand the scope of the joint operational group for the disposal of floating mines in the Black Sea. And Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria, Belgium and the Netherlands on the acquisition of seven mine countermeasure ships, the Defense Ministry announced. The Bulgarian prime minister held a number of bilateral meetings, including with Ukrainian President Zelensky and Czech Prime Minister Andrey Babis. With Zelensky, Radev discussed cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine in the field of energy and the supply of energy resources, including natural gas. Energy diversification and the actions taken to build new energy corridors to Europe were also among the highlights of the meeting.
Where will the next NATO summit be?
The location of the next summit was subsequently announced by the Alliance's Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who said that it would be in Albania, but when has not yet been decided. There have been hypotheses that it may not be next year.
Trump - the leader who focused all the attention
At the summit, the main attention was focused on US President Donald Trump, on his statements and actions. As soon as he arrived in Ankara, he began his criticism of the Alliance's allies, who do not spend enough on defense and who do not help in a difficult moment, such as the war in Iran. The main reproaches were reserved for Spain and Italy. Trump has often reproached these two countries and their leaders in recent months. In addition, he also criticized Germany, France and the UK. Paradoxically, during the official dinner on the first day of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump found himself at the same table with the leaders of most of the countries he criticized. Only two chairs separated him from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he had most often reproached in the past few months, at the table - those of the Turkish president and the NATO secretary general. According to informed sources, during this dinner there was no exchange of remarks between Trump and some of his dinner companions, such as Meloni or Macron. The Italian prime minister and the French president were among the leaders who even arrived last in Ankara in order to save themselves a direct confrontation with Trump.
On the second day of the forum, during his meetings with Erdogan and Rutte, Trump continued with his critical comments about the allies, but he also brought a new, unexpected touch to the conversation. He re-claimed Greenland, something he had seemingly forgotten about in the previous months.
In addition to all this, Trump also announced the end of the interim deal with Iran, stating that Iran had not adhered to its commitments.
During the closed-door meeting of NATO leaders yesterday afternoon, however, Trump did not criticize specific allies, nor did he talk about Greenland, Reuters reported, citing informed sources. After the end of this meeting, Trump, on the contrary, mentioned several times that only love reigned in the hall where the leaders had gathered and expressed regret that journalists were not there to capture the positive atmosphere, note Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Trump then continued with bilateral meetings, first with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and then with Syrian President Ahmed Ash Shaaraa, during which he did not spare praise for his interlocutors.
Was the summit a success?
At the briefings at the end of the second day of the summit, a number of European leaders, including Macron, Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Pedro Sanchez, and Friedrich Merz, mentioned the unity within the ranks of the Alliance despite disagreements on various issues, which is something completely natural when there are so many member states of an organization. And the hosts of the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, declared it a success. Trump even called it great.
This tone of final reconciliation is reminiscent of the tone of the summit in The Hague last year, Agence France-Presse emphasizes. And Trump's calmness at the end of the meeting was in striking contrast to his irritation at the beginning, the agency adds.
Skillful hosts
During the summit, Erdogan and Rutte proved to be particularly skillful hosts. Erdogan arranged a lavish welcome for Trump at the presidential palace “Beştepe“, where the American leader was received like a true emperor, Agence France-Presse summarizes. Rutte, on the other hand, proved to be a skillful mediator and in the end many of the leaders welcomed him.
The future of the Alliance
After the summit, analysts are commenting on what the future of the Alliance looks like. A number of European leaders of NATO countries have pointed out that the European component of the organization must be strengthened to make it more European and less American, thus making it truly transatlantic, that is, as it was originally conceived, Reuters and Agence France-Presse note. But this is not an easy task, the French agency admits. Some leaders, such as Meloni, emphasized that the Alliance should also focus on threats on the southern flank and on an equal partnership with the African continent, ANSA reported.
Arms deals
One of the concrete results of the Alliance summit came from the arms industry forum organized on July 7 in the Turkish capital. There, NATO announced arms deals worth $50 billion, Reuters summarizes. The forum was attended by companies from the defense industry of the Alliance's member states. The news of the large-scale deals came at a time when European allies are under constant pressure from the US president to shoulder a greater share of NATO defense spending, the agency commented.
Swedish defense equipment manufacturer SAAB announced that NATO will begin formal negotiations for the acquisition of up to 10 “Global Eye“ aircraft for long-range radar detection, air surveillance and control. The company's CEO Mikael Johansson said that deliveries could begin as early as 2030, and the final price would be approximately between $400 million and $450 million per aircraft. “Lockheed Martin“ and “Rheinmetall“ signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of ATAKMS missiles in Germany. Separately, the United States will establish a technical support center in Europe for “Lockheed Martin“s advanced PAK-3 anti-aircraft missile. The UK Ministry of Defense announced that the country will invest $254 million in the purchase of “Lockheed Martin“s long-range PRSM missiles, with the first deliveries expected in 2027. “Northrop Grumman“ will sell up to five unmanned reconnaissance aircraft “MQ-Triton“ to allies. Norway, Finland, Germany and Denmark have signed a letter of intent for the purchase in this direction. NATO will create a strategic fleet of “Airbus A400M“ transport aircraft and will expand its fleet of “A330 MRTT“ tanker aircraft. The IT consulting company “Accenture“ and the Italian defense company “Leonardo“ signed a seven-year contract worth about 200 million euros to design and operate a secure NATO communications network.
France - a key player in the new land unit of the Alliance
During the NATO summit in Ankara, one of the concrete results was that France announced that it would contribute to the NATO forward land force, led by Sweden and based in Finland. They are designed to strengthen the Alliance's deterrent capabilities in the face of the Russian threat, reported Agence France-Presse. The force was officially established in June. France will now participate in its rotation and training.
Alliance air forces
Another concrete result of the summit was that NATO countries agreed to transform the air patrol mission in the Baltic states into an air defense mission, a spokesman for Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told Reuters. The NATO air patrol mission in the three Baltic states, which do not have their own fighter jets, was launched in 2004, immediately after they joined the Alliance. The fighter jets in the mission are currently being mobilised on an emergency basis to track down any Russian military aircraft flying over international waters near the Baltic states, as well as in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the Gulf of Finland and the border with Russia. The mission was expanded in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. It involves more than a dozen fighter jets from three NATO member states on a rotational basis, taking off from two airfields in the Baltic states.
News related to Ukraine
A number of news items came from Trump's bilateral meeting with Zelensky. In addition to highlighting the good relations he has established with the Ukrainian leader, Trump praised him for his handling of the war, saying he was very effective, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters summarize. Trump also praised the talent of the Ukrainian people, highlighted Ukraine's work on creating efficient and cheap drones and talked about a bilateral deal in this direction. He also promised a US license for Ukraine to produce missiles for the US "Patriot" systems, something that Kiev has been demanding for a long time to protect itself from Russian ballistic attacks. During the meeting with Zelensky, Trump also commented on Ukraine's strikes deep into Russia, defining them as an escalation that could ultimately help end the war. Trump also said that both sides in the war want to find a solution, but that both their leaders have difficult personalities. The US president also mentioned that Washington will work on a package of guarantees to be provided to Ukraine. Trump did not rule out that part of this package could include steps to ensure the security of Ukrainian airspace, Reuters adds. The American leader also mentioned that he would go to Ukraine when the right time comes.
News related to Syria
During his meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Trump assured him that the US would remove his country from its blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, world agencies reported.
Meetings on the sidelines of the forum
The bilateral and trilateral meetings at the Alliance summit forum were diverse. At one point yesterday, for example, Trump, Zelensky and al-Sharaa held a short trilateral meeting. Pedro Sanchez, on the other hand, said that he had an informal meeting with Trump, during which they talked about football and golf. Zelensky met with Polish President Nawrocki amid tensions in bilateral relations.
Gifts
The summit did not go without lavish gifts from the host for his guests. In addition to the pleasant atmosphere and nutritious Turkish food, Erdogan gave each of the NATO member states a personal, specially engraved SR 38 revolver with ammunition for it, according to Turkish media and France Press. The guests also received a special pen.
Most impressive outfits
The summit did not go without a fashion accent, especially since the leaders were accompanied by their spouses. One of the most commented on, however, was not the first lady's outfit, but Meloni's elegant black suit, in which she appeared at the official dinner on the first day of the forum in Ankara. On the second day of the summit, Meloni chose a dark green suit.
The most impressive shoes were demonstrated by the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama - white sneakers, which he has appeared in at other summits.
The most impressive accessory was the black aviator sunglasses that Macron wore at the summit. He has been wearing this accessory for two weeks because of an eye problem.
NATO mascot
The summit did not go without a mascot, and it was a cat named "Lokum". She is one of nearly 50 cats that live in the National Library, located within the grounds of the "Beştepe" presidential palace in Ankara. The complex also housed the press center for journalists covering the summit. That is why at one point, "Lokum" the cat caught the attention of many of them. "Lokum" is an Ankara cat breed - an ancient breed originating, as its name suggests, from the Ankara region. The Ankara cat is also one of the oldest long-haired breeds in the world. Cats of this breed are known for their graceful and athletic figure, long and fine silky fur, almond-shaped eyes (often blue or multi-colored) and long, fluffy tail. Ankara cats are extremely intelligent, lively and curious. They are attached to their owners and adapt easily to home life. The Ankara cat is also considered a national symbol in Turkey.
The most clever slip
The summit was not without a slip. The source was Trump, who at one point spoke about the Islamic Republic of Japan, apparently referring to Iran, writes "Japan Times".
Protocol blunder
The French president made a serious protocol blunder by trying to kiss the hand of the first lady of Turkey, but it slipped away.
Mystery with two planes
For the summit in Ankara, Trump used two planes - the old presidential plane and the new presidential plane, gifted to Washington by Qatar, write DPA, BBC and Agence France-Presse. On the way out, Trump arrived on the new plane, but on the way back, he left Ankara on the old one. The journalists accompanying him were ordered not to raise the window blinds on the plane, and the plane eventually landed at an air force base in the UK. Only from there did Trump travel to Washington on the new presidential plane. According to the “New York Times“ the reason for this change of planes was motivated by considerations of the president's security and suspicions of a possible Iranian threat. Trump mentioned that he traveled on board his old plane out of nostalgia for the past. According to the “New York Times“, however, the new plane did not yet have all the technological functionalities inherent in an American presidential plane.