BRUSSELS / ISTANBUL
- NATO chief says allies must follow through on defense spending pledges and ramp up industrial production, calling Türkiye key hub with nearly 3,000 defense firms
- ‘NATO 3.0 is different from NATO 2.0, where we were overly dependent on the US’
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said next week’s NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara should be a “summit of delivery and implementation,” stressing defense spending, support for Ukraine, and defense industrial production as the alliance’s top priorities.
Speaking to Anadolu, Rutte said allies are expected to focus on delivering commitments made at last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, particularly on increasing defense spending.
Rutte said defense spending by European allies and Canada has risen significantly, noting that nearly $250 billion in additional spending has been committed over the past two years.
He said NATO must also maintain support for Ukraine while accelerating defense industrial production across the alliance.
Stressing the need to “build this NATO 3.0, a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO,” he said, “We need to really ramp up the defense industrial production, because it is an integral part of our deterrence,” adding that production timelines remain too long and that despite improvements output remains insufficient.
He noted that while defense budgets are rising, allies also face challenges in expanding military personnel and boosting defense industry output to meet growing security needs.
Highlighting Türkiye’s role, Rutte said the country has become a major defense industry hub with around 3,000 defense companies.
“Türkiye is an important country here,” he said, citing its expanding defense industrial base and growing technological capabilities.
Rutte said progress has been made across all three priorities, but suggested one could emerge as the dominant issue during the summit.
“Things generally are getting better, but I think from these three priorities that one might come out as one of the biggest,” he said, adding that the issue is expected to be a major focus at the NATO Defense Industry Forum on the summit’s opening day.
The Ankara summit, scheduled for July 7-8, will bring together heads of state and government from NATO member states. It will be the 36th summit of the alliance and the second hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 summit in Istanbul.
NATO 3.0 envisions stronger Europe within transatlantic alliance
On NATO’s future, Rutte described the alliance’s transformation as “NATO 3.0,” a concept centered on greater European responsibility within the alliance while preserving strong transatlantic ties.
He said NATO 3.0 differs from the previous model by reducing Europe’s overdependence on the United States.
“NATO 3.0 is different from NATO 2.0, where we were overly dependent on the US,” he said.
“The US will still be involved in Europe, conventional, and of course through the nuclear, but you will see a stronger European-led NATO,” he added.
According to Rutte, this includes greater European leadership in NATO command structures and stronger financial support from European allies and Canada for Ukraine.
Asked about the alliance’s biggest long-term threat, Rutte identified Russia as NATO’s primary security challenge.
“Russia is the main threat now and in the longer term,” he said, pointing to the Russia-Ukraine war and its military buildup.
“We see this crazy war of aggression against Ukraine, where (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is willing to sacrifice 35,000 of his own, his own men, primarily men in Russia fighting there, being killed or seriously wounded by Ukraine,” he added.
Rutte also warned that NATO’s security challenges extend beyond Russia alone, pointing to growing strategic cooperation between Moscow and other countries.
“So I would say Russia, but Russia is working together with North Korea, with Iran, with China,” he said.
He also cautioned against underestimating China’s military rise.
“China is having a massive buildup of its own military, will have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. So let’s not be naive about China,” he said.
He said the growing alignment among the four countries represents one of NATO’s main long-term security concerns.
“And again, in this foursome, working together with Iran and North Korea, it’s what Russia has to make, is the main long-term threat we face,” he added.
‘Türkiye is extremely important to NATO’
Rutte underscored Türkiye’s strategic importance within NATO, describing it as one of the alliance’s key military powers and a major contributor to its defense capabilities.
“Türkiye is extremely important to NATO,” he said, noting that Türkiye has been part of the alliance since 1952 – nearly 75 years – and has played a central role for decades.
“You (Türkiye) are one of the strongest militaries in the alliance … It is extremely well equipped, extremely well trained,” he added.
Rutte also highlighted Türkiye’s thriving defense industry as a major asset for the alliance, pointing to its roughly 3,000 defense companies ranging from large firms to smaller, innovation-driven enterprises.
He said Türkiye’s defense sector has shown a strong capacity in adapting emerging technologies and incorporating battlefield lessons, including from the war in Ukraine.
Rutte said this was one of the main reasons NATO chose Ankara as the venue for a defense industry forum ahead of the landmark summit.
“We were absolutely adamant to organize this defense industrial forum in Ankara,” he said, adding that Türkiye was a natural choice to showcase both its own defense sector and NATO’s broader industrial base.
Rutte also praised Turkish defense firm ASELSAN and Türkiye’s broader defense ecosystem, highlighting the country’s growing defense-industrial cooperation with Europe and the United States.
He said Türkiye’s defense sector has built strong partnerships across allied countries through mutual investments and industrial collaboration, calling such cooperation essential to strengthening NATO’s collective deterrence.
Europe’s security should remain broad, transatlantic stretching ‘from California up to and including Ankara’
Commenting on recent European defense initiatives, Rutte welcomed the European Union’s growing role in strengthening defense capabilities, while stressing that NATO’s long-term security architecture must remain inclusive and transatlantic.
Rutte praised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Defense and Space European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius for their leadership on European defense, noting that the EU can play an important role in boosting defense industrial capacity, resilience, and funding.
At the same time, he emphasized that Europe’s security cannot be viewed through the EU alone, pointing to NATO allies outside the bloc, including Türkiye, Norway, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.
“What we are constantly stressing as NATO is the inclusiveness,” he said.
Rutte said the alliance’s future security framework should remain broad and transatlantic, stretching “from California up to and including Ankara.”
He said discussions over Europe’s defense future are ongoing but stressed there is broad agreement among allies on the need for cooperation.
“We all agree that we are stronger when we are as inclusive as possible,” he said.
NATO’s nuclear deterrence remains credible, says Rutte
Asked about European initiatives to strengthen nuclear deterrence, Rutte said NATO’s existing nuclear architecture remains strong and continues to provide credible protection for the alliance.
He noted that the alliance’s deterrence framework is primarily built around the nuclear capabilities of the United States and United Kingdom within NATO, alongside France’s independent nuclear capability.
Rutte said France, while outside NATO’s nuclear planning group, remains a vital part of the alliance’s overall deterrence posture.
“The French even having extended that capability and said, hey, we want to make more use of it closely, coordinating with us, closely coordinating with European allies,” he said.
He welcomed France’s growing coordination with European allies, saying it adds further strategic pressure on Russia.
Rutte said NATO’s combined nuclear capabilities, particularly under the US security umbrella, continue to provide strong protection for allied nations.
“I think when it comes to nuclear, we are absolutely well protected,” he said.
*Writing by Fatma Zehra Solmaz
