Rutte invited Zelenskyy to the NATO summit in Ankara and proposed a new model for supporting Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that he has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Alliance leaders’ summit in Ankara, scheduled for 7 and 8 July.
Rutte announced this during a press conference following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden.
In response to questions from journalists, he confirmed that Zelenskyy would be attending the summit.
“I have already invited him. He will be there, just as he was in The Hague,” said the NATO Secretary General.
Rutte also noted that the issue of further military support for Ukraine will be one of the key topics at the summit in Turkey. According to him, the allies must agree on a fairer distribution of contributions to aid Ukraine against the backdrop of ongoing Russian aggression.
The day before, Rutte held a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The parties discussed preparations for the summit in Ankara, in particular the issue of rapidly ramping up defence production within the Alliance.
Marco Rubio, who is attending the NATO ministerial meeting in Sweden, stated that the issue of US President Donald Trump’s ‘disappointment’ with the Alliance would also be raised at the July summit.
Separately, discussions are ongoing within NATO regarding an initiative for long-term military support for Ukraine. This involves a proposal to allocate 0.25% of the allied nations’ gross domestic product to assist Kyiv.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced this ahead of the NATO summit in Sweden.
According to him, the initiative was put forward for discussion by Mark Rutte. Tsahkna noted that Estonia had proposed a similar approach several years ago and, as early as the beginning of 2024, had committed to allocating 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine over the next four years.
“It would be important to send such a message and also to make a genuine commitment to Ukraine, as Russia will remain a threat for a long time to come,” said the Estonian Foreign Minister.
At the end of April, Rutte had already raised the issue of such a support mechanism at a closed-door meeting of NATO allies. According to diplomatic sources, some countries, notably France and the UK, were sceptical of the initiative.
On 21 May, the NATO Secretary General stated that aid to Ukraine “is not distributed evenly within NATO”. He noted that a number of countries, including Sweden, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, are exceeding their capabilities in supporting Ukraine, whilst other allies, he said, are not spending enough.
