Published On 7/3/2026
The draft final statement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, scheduled to be held next week in Ankara, confirmed the adherence of the alliance’s leaders, including US President Donald Trump, to a “firm commitment” to the principle of collective defense stipulated in Article 5 of the NATO Charter.
According to Reuters, the ambassadors of NATO member states approved – today, Friday – the draft statement, which remains awaiting final approval from the countries’ leaders during the summit scheduled to be held on the seventh and eighth of this July.
The project also includes a pledge from member states to provide military aid to Ukraine worth 70 billion euros (about 80 billion dollars) during the year 2026, with a commitment to provide at least a similar level of support in 2027.
The draft final statement of the summit also affirmed the alliance’s leaders’ firm commitment “to collective defense in accordance with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, and to transatlantic ties. An attack on one of us is an attack on all.”
Trump opens fire on NATO
Trump preceded the summit by praising the Turkish President, whose country is hosting the summit, but he criticized NATO and its members, as he has repeatedly done, saying that they do not spend enough on defense and depend on the United States to protect Europe.
Trump said yesterday, Thursday, that it is “ridiculous” that the United States continues its “unilateral” relationship with NATO. He added critically, “We did not find them when we needed them,” noting that Washington’s relationship with the alliance is “not mutual.”
After his disagreement with European leaders over the American-Israeli war against Iran, Trump expressed doubts about the United States’ commitment to NATO’s Mutual Defense Treaty, and even went so far as to say that he was considering withdrawing from the alliance.
On the other hand, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Matthew Whitaker, expressed in previous statements his confidence that the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara will be “very successful,” referring to Trump’s pledge to raise the proportion of defense spending among NATO allies to 5% of the gross domestic product, and considering that the Ankara summit will be a “real measure of the progress achieved” in this framework.
Russia is a long-term threat
The text – which was approved by the ambassadors of the alliance’s 32 member states, including the United States – indicates that Trump is ready to abandon these positions, at least for the time being.
The declaration indicates that Russia poses a “long-term threat… to Euro-Atlantic security and stability,” and that European NATO members and Canada are fulfilling their commitment made at last year’s summit in The Hague to increase defense spending.
As stated in the proposed text, “Building the future: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO… European allies and Canada, in cooperation with the United States, bear greater responsibility for the defense of the Alliance.”
The text also notes that “the allies reaffirm that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon, and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The birth of a new vision for the Alliance
As for Turkey’s official Anatolia Agency – the host country of the summit – it said that the next summit will outline the features of the alliance’s transition to the “NATO 3.0” version to face the new security challenges.
She added that the current stage in which Russia has returned to pose a prominent threat, in parallel with the return to the concept of collective defense and the escalation of competition between major powers.
Anatolia quoted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte as saying that one of the most important priorities of the Ankara summit will be building “NATO 3.0,” and that the summit will contribute to shaping the features of the new vision.
She explained that the basic idea underlying “NATO 3.0” is to share burdens more fairly, with Europe assuming leadership of conventional defense, reconsidering the American military presence inside Europe, and increasing European defense spending, thus putting an end to what is described as “free dependence” on the United States.
