NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that the main result for Ukraine of the Ankara summit, which will take place on July 7-8, will be the allies’ firm commitment to provide everything necessary to protect the country from Russian aggression.
He said this in Brussels on Wednesday at a press conference on the eve of the meeting of NATO defense ministers, which will take place at the headquarters on June 18.
According to Rutte, a successful outcome would involve an absolute, unyielding commitment from all allies to back Ukraine, mirroring the approach taken during the previous NATO summit in The Hague on June 24-25, 2025. He noted that following the Hague meeting, a comprehensive assistance program was successfully developed to deliver ongoing support to Ukraine.
The Secretary General highlighted the recent declarations from the G7 summit, emphasizing that the Western world and all NATO allies remain completely dedicated to ensuring Ukraine maintains its position in its fight against Russia. He stressed that the goal is to enable Ukraine to protect itself and to enter any future peace negotiations from a position of clear strength.
Rutte assured that regarding financial and material support, the United States has explicitly stated its intention to keep providing vital aid, including specialized weapons systems that only America can supply.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General pointed out that European and Canadian allies are covering the costs for other critical equipment, such as air defense systems.
He added that the details of this continued support would be further discussed on Thursday during the meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
When asked by Interfax-Ukraine why the NATO-Ukraine Council was not scheduled to meet alongside the defense ministers, Rutte explained that a council session at the ambassadorial level had just taken place in Kyiv two weeks prior. He described that visit as highly impactful, noting that the Ukrainian president participated directly to address all pressing issues and challenges during the meeting at the presidential palace.
However, Rutte did not give a direct answer regarding whether the NATO-Ukraine Council would convene during the upcoming Ankara summit, though he did confirm that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would attend. The NATO Secretary General stated that the Ukrainian president’s agenda at the summit is expected to resemble his schedule from the previous year in The Hague, which featured numerous bilateral meetings rather than a full session with all 32 alliance leaders, as the main schedule includes a single session restricted to the 32 member states.
