NATO Secretary General press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara 🇹🇷 08 JUL 2026

Good afternoon. We have just concluded a tremendously successful NATO summit here in Ankara. There was a great sense of unity. Allies warmly welcomed President Trump's leadership that is transforming this alliance and making it stronger. The message from this summit is simple. NATO delivers. One year ago in The Hague, allies took historic decisions to strengthen our alliance here in Ankara, excellently hosted by President Erdogan. We have demonstrated that those commitments are now being put into practice across the alliance. Defense investment continues to rise. New capabilities are being delivered. Industry is expanding production and European allies and Canada are assuming greater responsibility for our shared security. Together, these are the foundations for a stronger, a fairer, and a more capable NATO. Allies reviewed the significant progress already made towards investing 5% of GDP in defense by 2035, already measuring 4% just one year into a 10-year project. So, the momentum is clear. Allies continue to increase both core defense spending and broader investment that strengthen our security. They are generating the capabilities our defense plans require and stepping up the contribution to NATO's collective deterrence and defense. This is not simply about spending more. It is about ensuring that our armed forces have what they need to keep our 1 billion people safe in a more dangerous world. Our focus has now shifted decisively from setting targets to delivering results. That means accelerating production, breaking down barriers, boosting resilience, investing in innovation, and working with partners to maximize cooperation.

The NATO summit defense industry forum demonstrated the determination of governments and industry to work together with greater speed and ambition. And the numbers are staggering, including over $50 billion in new procurement deals in just one day. We also launched a new major initiative, NATO's drone edge, which will see $40 billion invested by allies in unmanned systems over the next 5 years, and big deals with US and European industry including Triton from Northrop Grumman and our new AEX from SAP. These new investments and industrial commitments announced here will help strengthen our collective defense while supporting innovation, economic growth and of course skilled jobs across the whole of the alliance. This work must continue and that's why I'm happy to announce that allies are taking a historic step to enhance NATO's fuel supply chain to ensure our forces have the energy supplies they need for war fighting readiness. While allies continue to finalize the details, we know that this 27 billion euro investment will modernize our existing fuel storage and distribution infrastructure and support new facilities including pipelines towards the eastern part of the alliance. We're also ensuring that we are using technology to our advantage, including through the adoption of powerful AI models and the development of an interoperable transatlantic war fighting cloud. So here again, credible deterrence and defense depends on what we deliver and we are delivering.

Allies also reaffirmed NATO's unwavering support for Ukraine. As Russia continues its war, we will continue to ensure Ukraine gets what it needs. Allies pledged to provide at least 70 billion euros in military equipment, assistance, and training for Ukraine this year and again next year as we continue to press for peace. As Ukraine shifts the dynamics on the battlefield, our support must continue. This summit has shown that the alliance is stronger than ever. An alliance that is united and ready to defend every inch of our territory. Here in Ankara, allies reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to the collective defense under Article 5. That an attack on one is an attack on all and we will stand together. Our unity, solidarity and collective strength remain the foundation of peace, security and prosperity. Leaders also agreed on the importance of modernizing our alliance and building for the future. That means a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO with European allies and Canada working with the United States taking on greater responsibility for the defense of the alliance. Transformative investment in defense, major deals for industry on both sides of the Atlantic. We are rebalancing our security for the better. That is what NATO 3.0 is all about. An alliance that continues to adapt and alliance that continues to deliver to keep 1 billion people safe. Thank you.

Well, on your first question, I can only tell you that what I saw in the room with 32 leaders sitting together was a huge sense of unity. I've not seen this in recent history. And this is what I always believe NATO is all about that yes, you will have your forceful debates. Sometimes people will argue at the top of their lungs, their points of view, and others will answer. And I'm never worried about that because in the end, we are an alliance of democracies. It makes us stronger. It not only makes us stronger. In the end, we also come together to get today as evidence of that. And I always know that President Trump and the US is completely committed to NATO. But there is this big irritant, the irritant that the Europeans were not paying the same as the Americans were paying. And this is a frustration on the US part since Eisenhower. And this American president has been able to solve this and not only get the Europeans to commit to spend the same as the US, but also to deliver on that commitment already 4% on a 10-year trajectory to reach the 5%, 4% already reached. Of course also because we have the Russian threat, the war in Ukraine, etc. But this is a huge encouragement done by the American president to get us to do this. So for all those reasons I sense this sense of unity and that is what makes this alliance so strong. It was really very special to be in that room to sense that situation. We all felt it that this alliance is more together than ever. I think particularly because we allow ourselves to sometimes disagree and then come together. On your second question, it's absolutely clear it is a NATO policy and a viewpoint of all 32 allies that Iran should never get its hand on a nuclear capability. Obviously, Iran is outside NATO territory. That doesn't mean that NATO could never get involved. But as I said before, if helpful, NATO is always willing to play a role. But first now, let's see what happens over the coming days and weeks.

Well, let's indeed, as you already implied to your question, and I agree with that, I agree that $250 billion spent more in two years by Canada and Europe is massive and there is a max to what you can spend more in one or two years because you still have to recruit the men and women in uniform. You have to make sure that the defense industrial base produces the output. And of course we are also ramping up the defense industrial production but also there you need a couple of years to really get it going. Yes, there is always a certain spread between one country and the other. On the other hand, when you look at four big economies, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Canada, they were far from 2% a year ago, they all committed to 2%. And I always sense that if you have to make such a jump from 1.3, 1.4% to 2%, that means in the case of some of these countries 5 to 10 billion dollars extra spent in one year that you need to give yourself a little bit of time to indeed spend the money. Again the absorption capacity but then at a national level but all these countries commit to move forward and to deliver on the Hague target.

Well, on the second question this is primarily a bilateral issue between Turkey and the United States and this has been discussed as far as I understand also in the bilateral discussions yesterday or at least the two countries are working on it. So let me not comment. And your first question was on what it will take to bring Mr. Putin to the negotiating table. Yes. So on Putin. I said this, I gave that answer on Monday. I stopped a long time ago to try to interpret what is going on in the head of Vladimir Putin. What I do know is that Putin is in difficulty. The economy is doing badly. He is losing around 30,000 of his own people a month, which is terrible news for those families and people. It means he's willing to sacrifice up to 30, sometimes even 35,000 of his own, primarily men, on the battlefield. We see Ukraine striking deep into Russia when it comes to the energy infrastructure, the defense infrastructure, and the front line. He was making some gains earlier this year, and it is now more or less of a stalemate. So, he's not doing well. There is this firm commitment now by the 32 to continue the support for Ukraine. I think that is absolutely relevant and very important. And I know that President Trump and his team with help from everyone who is available is trying to end this terrible war. He's meeting now as we speak with President Zelenskyy to discuss what can be done more. And wherever we can be helpful, we will be helpful as NATO. Let me not try to predict what's going on in the mind of the Russian president.

What the president and I agreed in Davos in January is first of all for when it comes to the defense of the Arctic, he absolutely was right because there is a huge risk that Russia and China will gain more and more access to the Arctic. And the discussion we had and the deal we made is for NATO, particularly the seven countries bordering on the Arctic including of course the US through NORAD and NATO. So that means Canada with NORAD and then of course the five European allies: Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway working together backed up by all the other allies making sure that the Arctic stays safe. This is Arctic Sentry launched by the Supreme Allied Commander early February. And then secondly, and here you're right, I'm not allowed to discuss or make any commitments on this second part. The second part is about trilateral talks between the US, Greenland, and Denmark led by the foreign ministers of the United States, Greenland, and Denmark. Basically to make sure that whatever investments when it comes to the Golden Dome or deployment of troops on Greenland will be made in the future that if Greenland would change its constitutional position within the kingdom of Denmark that these commitments, these deals are still valid and that's why also Greenland is involved in those talks. I'm not involved in those talks. So your question 'are you allowed etc.' On the second part this is up to the three parties. These talks are ongoing. When it comes to the first, of course, it is my role to work with our military leaders to make sure that we implement this Arctic Sentry and that's exactly what we are doing.

The next summit will indeed be in Albania. That was the decision in The Hague. So the summit now in Ankara and then the next summit in Albania. So from now on, of course, the next summit is not in Ankara because we are in Ankara now. So the next summit is in Albania. And of course, we still have to decide on the exact timing.

No. Because the United States is so strong and powerful, it can do both. Obviously, we still have to produce more. That's anyway a goal we have both in the US and in Europe and in Canada. But when it comes to Iran, degrading the nuclear capability, degrading the interballistic missile capability of Iran, crucial for the Middle East, crucial for Europe, crucial for the whole world, and then of course the American president deciding, and I think he was totally right last night, given the attacks on ships which happened over the last 24 hours to do these strikes obviously is completely the right thing to do because this was Iran breaking the deal.

Yeah, obviously this is not so much NATO. This is individual European allies having bilateral agreements with the United States which have been negotiated over the years when it comes for example to the use of bases etc. And I know when it comes to this that the United States is disappointed and what I pointed out is that this is about individual cases, isolated cases. When you look at Europe as a whole, massively the Europeans have done what they bilaterally agreed with the United States when it comes to these agreements and this led in aggregate to as I mentioned on Monday up to 5,000 sorties from European bases in the context of Epic Fury and I would say Epic Fury would have been very difficult to do without Europe being a platform of power projection for the United States. Of course, this is one of the reasons why the United States is invested in its allies in Europe to keep itself safe from the nuclear submarines from Russia not ending up at the shores of the United States, but also for example for this reason to make sure that they can make use of these bases and massively that has been done.