NATO has cast Russia as the long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Its answer, agreed at the Ankara summit, is a stronger Europe bearing more of the Alliance’s defense.

Delivering on the Hague pledge, European allies and Canada increased core defense investment by more than $139 billion in 2025. In Ankara, NATO announced more than $50 billion in new procurement and pledged to expand manufacturing capacity and remove defense trade barriers. The declaration also set capability targets across all domains, including integrated air and missile defense, uncrewed systems, and deep precision strike. NATO is building an interoperable transatlantic warfighting cloud and adopting advanced AI models.

The declaration recasts the balance of effort inside the Alliance. European allies and Canada, working with the United States, are “assuming greater responsibility for the Alliance’s defense,” it states. The wording endorses a long-standing goal in Washington: that Europe finance a larger share of NATO’s conventional forces. The shift reallocates burdens without scaling back the Alliance’s ambitions.

On Ukraine, NATO reaffirmed its unwavering support. For 2026, allies pledged €70 billion in military equipment, assistance, and training. They affirmed commitments to sustain at least that level in 2027. European allies and Canada now finance the bulk of security assistance to Ukraine. The declaration says that support must be predictable and sustainable over the long term. NATO welcomed the European Union’s decision to provide multi-year funding through the Ukraine Support Loan.

NATO also reiterated that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. It called on Tehran to respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

In strategic terms, the Ankara Declaration tests whether a more European NATO can deter Russia as credibly as an American-led one did. Money is committed, but capacity is not yet built, and Europe still depends on U.S. strategic assets. The decisive variable is whether European industry and forces can close that gap in time. The answer will show whether burden-shifting strengthens the Alliance or marks the erosion of the American security guarantee in Europe. (EIR)