Polish president: Ankara summit to show NATO unity

The upcoming NATO summit in Türkiye will serve as a powerful display of the alliance’s political cohesion and military capabilities in the face of growing Russian aggression, Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Wednesday. Speaking after a Bucharest Nine (B9) summit in Romania, Nawrocki told reporters that allied leaders held constructive dialogue in preparation for the July 7-8 NATO summit in Ankara.

Expanding the eastern flank

Nawrocki voiced support for expanding the B9 format to include Nordic NATO members — Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark — to strengthen security coordination “from the Arctic to the Black Sea.” He said the Kremlin seeks “to rebuild its spheres of influence, to undermine NATO’s cohesion, and to erode the sovereignty and democracy of countries in our region.” The Polish president stressed that “there is no NATO without the United States” and that strong Europe-US cooperation remains essential.

Defence spending and next summit

Nawrocki said allies expect a “strong message” from Ankara encouraging NATO members to accelerate defence spending, adding that commitments from the last Hague summit should be seen as “a target along the way.” He announced that the next B9 summit will be hosted in Warsaw. The Ankara summit — the second NATO leaders’ meeting to be held in Türkiye, following Istanbul in 2004 — comes at a critical juncture as the alliance balances threats from Russia, instability in the Middle East, and the ongoing Iran war’s effects on the southern flank.