BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 18. NATO Ankara summit
to focus on delivery of commitments, NATO Deputy Secretary General
Radmila Shekerinska, said during a panel discussion at the Antalya
Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye, Trend reports.
According to her, while the Hague summit demonstrated political
commitment, the upcoming summit in Ankara must focus on
implementation.
“If The Hague was the summit that was supposed to show our
commitment—and it did—Ankara is the summit that needs to show our
delivery,” she said.
Shekerinska noted that reaching agreement among all 32 allies on
key decisions was not easy.
“Having a decision by all 32 allies, with different political
circumstances and priorities, agreeing that collective security is
our key goal and committing to a significant, historic,
unprecedented increase in defense spending was not an easy feat,”
she said.
She emphasized that current threats require decisive action.
“The threats that we are faced with do not allow for flexibility
or delays—they require decisive action,” Shekerinska added.
According to her, allies have already begun to deliver on their
commitments.
“What we see is that European allies and Canada are stepping
up,” she noted, highlighting that countries such as Lithuania and
Latvia have significantly increased defense spending, while Germany
has made a “dramatic difference” by doubling its defense
budget.
She also stressed the importance of strengthening defense
production and industrial cooperation.
“This is not only about money. We need increased production,
stronger cooperation between companies, and shorter delivery
times,” she said.
Shekerinska added that industry is responding to these
demands.
“Industry is stepping up, increasing production and cooperation
to maintain a strong transatlantic defense industrial base,” she
noted.
