Policy analyst Juraj Majcin has referred to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte who has dubbed the Summit in Ankara a “delivery summit”. In many ways, it lived up to that description. It did not remove the political uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump’s approach to NATO. However, it acknowledged that Europeans and Canadians were shaping their renewed commitment to defence investment actively, demonstrating that the Alliance could still function as a potent deterrent force despite strong political headwinds.

The atmosphere in the run-up to the Summit was uneasy. Trump had been sharply critical of European allies that, in his view, had failed to support, or had not sufficiently supported, his campaign against Iran. He had even threatened to halt trade with Spain, revived calls for Greenland to be transferred from Danish to American sovereignty and resumed strikes on Iran.