Nato members on Wednesday announced more than $50 billion in new defence and security spending commitments, as European allies attempt to show a sceptical US that they are committed to paying their way in the alliance.
Allies revealed the new commitments after a two-day summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, which has been characterised by US President Donald Trump’s criticism of European partners, continued support for Ukraine, and fears over a full resumption of the war in Iran following strikes in the Gulf.
Allies would continue to work to “eliminate defence trade barriers” between them and “leverage Nato's partnerships” to maximise defence industrial depth and co-operation, they said in a joint declaration.
Mr Trump also announced that Ukraine would be permitted to manufacture Patriot missiles to defend itself against Russia.
“One of the things we're going to be talking about is, we're going to give a licence to you to make Patriots,” Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy.
Securing a peace deal to end the four-year long conflict has proved elusive and as in previous years, support for Ukraine has been a major feature of the Nato summit.
Separately, Nato members also pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026 and “at least equivalent levels” of support in 2027, according to the joint declaration.
Mr Trump was “meeting right now with President Zelenskyy” to see what more can be done, “but let’s not try to predict what’s going in the head of Vladimir Putin,” Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Nato leaders also stressed their “ironclad commitment to our collective defence under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and to the transatlantic bond”, after a summit dominated by divisions in the 77-year-old alliance. The alliance’s deterrence and defence rest on “an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defence capabilities, complemented by space and cyber assets,” the statement said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to leave Nato, and levelled sharp criticism at European partners after arriving in Ankara on Tuesday for their unwillingness to enter the war in Iran.
Mr Rutte appeared upbeat and cheery, and said there was a “great sense of unity” at the summit. Allies were well on their way to meeting a commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence-related spending, making good on a pledge agreed to at last year's meeting.
“We have demonstrated that those commitments are being put into action,” he said, and Europe and Canada taking on more responsibility was part of the “foundations for a stronger, fairer and more capable Nato.”
In response to a question over Mr Trump's acerbic criticism of Nato, Mr Rutte said internal disagreements ultimately strengthened the alliance.
“Between friends you can fight sometimes, because it makes you stronger,” he said.
A significant escalation in the Strait of Hormuz overnight overshadowed the summit, where Mr Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran “was over”, placing into greater peril a very fragile cessation in months of conflict in the Middle East.
The Nato statement repeated previous positions saying that “Iran must never have a nuclear weapon” and called on the country to “fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Mr Rutte said that Iran was “outside Nato territory” but said individual European countries had bilateral agreements with the US that had allowed for more than 5,000 take offs from European territory in the war with Iran. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised countries including Italy and Spain for what he claimed was their refusal to help in the conflict.
