NATO Summit in Ankara: Pistorius Sees Signal of Unity and Negotiates Over Capability Gaps

Intermediate-Range Weapons and Arms Cooperation

In parallel, the focus is on the financial underpinning of the alliance. According to Pistorius, a new military aid package of 70 billion euros each for this year and the next is to be officially decided. NATO is thereby responding to a need for conventional defense capability that has risen sharply in recent years. According to the minister's account, however, the German government will not publicly commit itself as long as negotiations with the major alliance partner and other European allies are still ongoing.

The background is Washington's announcement that it will withdraw several thousand soldiers from Germany, hold fewer military capabilities under NATO command for deterrence and defense, and stop the previously agreed stationing of intermediate-range weapons. Pistorius commented on these steps in a deliberately matter-of-fact manner and pointed out that they had not yet been substantiated. At the same time, he made clear: "Das muss abgestimmt passieren, damit nicht dadurch, dass etwas abgezogen wird, was nicht zeitnah ersetzt werden kann, gefährliche Fähigkeitslücken entstehen. Darüber besteht Einigkeit, und wir arbeiten jetzt an der Umsetzung."

Capability Gaps: What Europe Wants to Contribute

According to information from the newspaper "Welt" from NATO circles, the Europeans have agreed on how they want to fill almost all the gaps. Germany is accordingly to offer, among other things, a high single-digit number of Eurofighter jets, several Heron TP drones, two maritime reconnaissance aircraft, two modern F125-class frigates, as well as escort ships. The commitments are part of the NATO Force Model, which determines which member states maintain how many forces and capabilities and how quickly they must be available. France is to step in with an aircraft carrier, Italy and Germany with escort ships for the American carrier battle group that has been removed from NATO planning.

In addition to alliance defense, support for Ukraine is a focal point. Pistorius expressed confidence that the USA will continue to support Ukraine. Irritations from Washington over the participation of European states in the defense alliance have also played no role in the consultations held so far, he said on Deutschlandfunk. US President Trump had recently also expressed dissatisfaction with the policies of European NATO partners, renewed his claims on Greenland, and brought a complete trade stop into play in the dispute with Spain. Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen declared on this: "Grönland stehe selbstverständlich nicht zu Verkauf."

Ukraine, the Middle East, and Disagreements with Washington

Another topic of the summit is the situation in the Middle East. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed understanding for the renewed US strikes on targets in Iran. Pistorius at the same time addressed an appeal to Tehran to stop attacks on free shipping in order to enable a stable ceasefire. The background is Trump's statement: "Die Feuerpause sei vorbei," though he added: "Er werde jedoch zulassen, dass die Gespräche fortgesetzt würden".

Overall, Pistorius points out that the European allies have come extraordinarily close together in recent months. The summit is to make this common will visible and translate it into concrete commitments for the NATO Force Model. Until then, the decision on the future burden-sharing between the USA and Europe remains one of the biggest open questions for the alliance.

The meeting in Ankara ends on the evening of the second day with a closing session. Observers expect that the final communiqué will emphasize the alignment with Washington while at the same time underscoring the Europeans' independence. According to Pistorius, it will show whether the unity in the coming months will actually be backed by the necessary capabilities – or whether the signal from the summit will fall short of expectations.

On the question of how the European NATO states want to organize the growing-together defense alliance beyond purely symbolic declarations, further negotiations are to take place as early as autumn. According to the NATO framework calendar, the next scheduled meetings of the defense ministers are planned for November. Pistorius also made clear that, despite all the disruptions with the USA, the summit meeting should send "ein wichtiges Signal der Geschlossenheit".

According to information from delegation circles, the German government rates the course of the summit so far as evidence that Europe has become more capable of acting within the alliance. However, it is also clear that the final commitments – for example on the level of contributions and the stationing of certain weapon systems – will only be made after further bilateral rounds with Washington and among the Europeans themselves.