NATO members to pledge billions for weapons for Ukraine at Ankara summit – Politico

Alliance members are expected to commit to new weapons supply contracts worth billions of dollars and to increase arms production volumes, including for Ukraine, at the NATO summit in Ankara next month.

Source: Politico, citing five unnamed diplomats, as reported by European Pravda

Details: NATO leaders, including US President Donald Trump, will gather in the Turkish capital on 7-8 July. As last year, the joint statement will be brief, the diplomats said as they detailed its preliminary content.

NATO member ambassadors are currently discussing the details of the leaders' declaration, which may change up until the last moment, after which the heads of state and government will sign the statement in Ankara.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wants to focus the summit primarily on boosting defence industrial production, partly because he is seeking a unifying theme that will help mask internal divisions within NATO.

In the draft statement, NATO allies also commit to providing Ukraine with military support worth €70 billion (approx. US$76.9 billion) and pledge at least an equivalent sum for the following year, the diplomats said. The US is not expected to participate in reaching this target.

One of the diplomats mentioned above noted that support for Ukraine will likely be the most contentious issue. But overall, negotiations on the draft declaration are "going smoothly", another source added.

In the draft statement, European allies commit to taking a more active role in defending the continent, including by referencing investments in deep strike capabilities, air defence systems and drones, the diplomats said.

Background:

• Rutte previously said there will be no separate Ukraine-NATO Council session at the summit in Türkiye.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit by a delegation that he will lead.

Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.