NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to herald this week's summit in Ankara as one of the most consequential summits in the organisation's history by virtue of record defence spending commitments by Europe and Canada, Euronews understands.
The summit may indeed be momentous, marking as its does the beginning of the "Europeanisation of NATO". As the 32 heads of allied governments gather in the Turkish capital, the alliance's top brass are pushing for a tighter focus on the need to transform Europe's already historic spending on defence into capabilities suited to modern warfare and security.
Despite best efforts by Rutte to project unity and strength amid talk of the new age of "NATO 3.0", the spectre of US disengagement from European security looms large. As one NATO diplomat put it in conversation with Euronews, the summit will be informed by several months of "upheaval".
The Trump factor
Just 6 months ago allies took seriously Washington's threat to "take" Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. Since then, US President Donald Trump has made clear his outrage over what he calls allies' "abandonment" of the US in its war against Iran.
