BRUSSELS: NATO leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are set to affirm an “ironclad commitment” to collective defense under the alliance’s Article 5 pact at a summit in Ankara next week, according to a text approved by NATO ambassadors on Friday and reviewed by Reuters.
NATO members are also set to pledge €70 billion ($80 billion)
in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026 and “at least equivalent levels” of support in 2027, according to the declaration, which still needs final approval from the leaders at the summit.
“We ... have gathered in Ankara to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our collective defense under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and to the transatlantic bond. An attack on one is an attack on all,” says the declaration for the summit, which takes place on July 7 and 8.
Trump has accused NATO and its members of not spending enough on defense and relying on the US to protect Europe.
After clashing with European leaders over the war against Iran, Trump cast doubt on the US commitment to NATO’s mutual defense pact and even said he was considering quitting the alliance.
But the text, approved by the ambassadors of all NATO’s 32 members, including the US, suggests the US president is willing to set aside those ideas, at least for now.
“We are building the future: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO,” the text says.
“European Allies and Canada, working with the US, are assuming greater responsibility for the Alliance’s defense.”
The text also states that “Allies reiterate that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
