Ankara: NATO leaders have concluded their meetings with a significant agreement to provide new arms supplies exceeding $50 billion to bolster the alliance's defense capabilities. According to National Iraqi News Agency, the leaders emphasized the urgency of increasing defense spending and pledged to expand military industrial capabilities during their summit in Ankara.

The summit's final statement reaffirmed the alliance's commitment to collective defense, highlighting that an attack on one member state is considered an attack on all allies. The leaders also stressed the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and urged Iran to respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The alliance expressed its intention to remove obstacles to defense trade among member states and leverage NATO partnerships to enhance cooperation and expand the defense industrial base. The pursuit of a stronger NATO within a stronger Europe was underscored, with European allies and Canada expected to take on greater responsibility alongside the United States in the alliance's defense.

NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities were highlighted as being based on a combination of nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities, supported by space and cyber capabilities. The alliance aims to maintain combat superiority through investment in force deployment, developing long-range precision strike capabilities, integrated air and missile defense, unmanned systems, advanced technologies, and intelligence. Additionally, a transatlantic combat cloud based on advanced artificial intelligence models is being developed.

The final communiqu© included a pledge by the Allies to collaborate with industry to enhance collective production capabilities and accelerate innovation. It emphasized their "unwavering commitment" to the transatlantic alliance and Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The statement also described Russia as a "long-term threat" and highlighted Europe's increased responsibilities within the alliance. Leaders committed to providing Ukraine with at least £70 billion in military aid during 2026 and maintaining at least that level during 2027.