The official program for the NATO summit in Turkey has been released
The NATO Press Office has released the official agenda for the Alliance’s summit, which will take place on July 7–8 in the Turkish capital. The events will be attended by the heads of state and government of NATO member countries, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will participate in a number of key meetings.
The summit will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time with the Defense Industry Forum.
The event will bring together senior officials from the Alliance, member states, and partners, as well as representatives of the defense industry and the innovation sector, to discuss pressing security issues. New agreements on defense cooperation are expected to be announced.
At 2:00 p.m., NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a brief joint statement. The Ukrainian leader will head Ukraine’s delegation at the summit.
An official reception and dinner for heads of state and government, along with their spouses, is scheduled for the evening, and Zelenskyy will also attend.
At 7:45 p.m., a meeting of the Ukraine–NATO Council at the foreign ministers’ level will take place in the format of a working dinner.
This will be followed by a meeting of NATO defense ministers with representatives from the Indo-Pacific region—Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.
The second day of the summit will begin with an official welcoming ceremony for the leaders of NATO member states, who will be greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the President of Turkey.
At 11:15 a.m., the North Atlantic Council meeting at the level of heads of state and government will begin, marking the summit’s main event.
Following the meeting, at 3:00 p.m., Mark Rutte will hold a wrap-up press conference to announce the summit’s key decisions and outcomes.
Currently, NATO member states are continuing to discuss the content of the joint statement ahead of the Alliance summit. One of the main points of contention remains the timing of financial assistance to Ukraine, with Italy taking a different position on this issue than most allies.
Ukraine has called on NATO to officially recognize it as asecurity contributor.
At the upcoming NATO summit, the allies plan to reaffirm their long-term support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that assistance must be stable, predictable, and designed for the long term.
Russia may have been conducting covert reconnaissance of NATO countries’ nuclear facilities for over a year and a half using drones launched from ships of the so-called “shadow fleet.”
