NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed ahead of the two-day meeting in Ankara that European allies and Canada are already investing about four percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense and security. Of that, roughly 2.5 percent goes to classic defense spending and 1.5 percent to other defense-related areas such as infrastructure, as the German Press Agency (dpa) learned.
German Friedrich Merz (CDU) dismissed Trump’s accusation that the spending of major allies is ‘ridiculous’ as unfounded. He said he had made this clear to Trump in a phone call on Friday. Despite the disagreements, Merz hopes for a sign of strength and unity from the summit. According to his entourage, he wants to advocate for a ‘spirit of Ankara’ that sends the signal: ‘We are building a more European NATO so that this NATO can remain transatlantic.’
A central topic of the summit is also continued support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to NATO to make strong decisions on air defense following heavy Russian air strikes on Monday night. Rutte called on allies to contribute so that aid for Ukraine continues to flow. Ukraine is expected to receive a new pledge for billions in military aid: a minimum funding of 70 billion euros per year over two years, totaling 140 billion euros.
Source: Stadt München
