LONDON — NATO’s number two military leader is calling on member nations to use an upcoming summit in Turkey as an opportunity to demonstrate unity, pledge stronger defense spending, and reaffirm the alliance’s backing of Ukraine.
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, sat down with The Associated Press in London less than two weeks ahead of the high-stakes Ankara summit scheduled for July 7-8. The gathering will serve as a major test of cohesion for the 77-year-old alliance.
The run-up to the summit has been marked by mixed signals from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has at times threatened to withdraw from NATO, pushed to annex Greenland, and offered flattering remarks toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added to the tension last week by criticizing NATO allies for not allowing the use of their bases to strike Iran, while also announcing an unexpected six-month review of American military forces stationed in Europe.
Adding to the turbulence, government ministers in the United Kingdom have stepped down, citing concerns that the country’s military spending plans are insufficient to keep Britain secure.
Stringer, a senior British air force officer, acknowledged the alliance is going through a difficult stretch. “Are we in one of those moments at the moment? Yes, we are,” he said during an interview at a military conference in London, where AP also spoke with other senior European military leaders about their expectations for the summit.
He described summits as “highly political events” that serve as a demonstration of an organization’s unity, noting it would be unusual if decades of NATO expansion hadn’t produced some turbulence along the way.
Trump has long pushed European allies to take greater responsibility for their own defense, and with the notable exception of Spain, most member nations have responded with an unprecedented increase in military spending.
Maj. Gen. Indrek Sirel, a commander in Estonia’s armed forces, said Europe must strengthen its own militaries while also helping Ukraine chip away at Russia’s military capabilities, given Russia’s growing threat to the continent.
Brig. Gen. Jyri Raitasalo of Finland — which shares NATO’s longest border with Russia — put it bluntly: “Europe as a whole has a lot to do in order to be credible against Russia.”
Stringer said European nations are making investments to build a “really credible force,” pointing to examples like some countries quadrupling their production of 155 mm artillery shells. He said the summit will address ramping up production at a scale the alliance hasn’t seen in decades.
The results of Hegseth’s six-month force review will largely determine how quickly European nations must take over their own security responsibilities. Earlier this month, the U.S. military in Europe indicated that Washington would be pulling back some capabilities and expecting allies to fill those gaps.
While the Trump administration has maintained that troop reductions were long planned and coordinated with allies, Sirel said it remains unclear exactly how U.S. forces will be positioned in the Baltic states, including their role in deterring Russia along NATO’s eastern flank.
Sirel said he remained “confident” in a continued U.S. presence, while acknowledging that Estonia’s military is preparing to adapt quickly to sudden changes.
Stringer said replacing U.S. long-range strike and surveillance capabilities would be difficult, but expressed confidence that allies could bridge the gap — not necessarily with identical equipment, but through a “cocktail” of mixed capabilities. He noted that while only the U.S. operates B1 and B52 bombers, the loss of those assets could theoretically be offset by missiles fired from ground, sea, and smaller aircraft platforms.
NATO allies were caught off guard in May when Trump announced plans to send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering a similar number withdrawn from Europe.
Raitasalo, who serves as Finland’s military logistics chief, said such abrupt shifts are problematic because military planning depends on long-term strategy. “If you change your mind, or change your plan, every week or every month or even every year, you will not get very good results,” he said. He added that allies need to make firm commitments of actual capabilities rather than simply promising spending targets.
Sweden’s army chief, Maj. Gen. Jonny Lindfors, said a successful summit outcome would be “a common picture of how to realign when it comes to deterrence and defense.” He said he hopes for at least an outline — if not a clear vision — of how defense responsibilities should be redistributed, so that he can understand what “NATO 3.0 is starting to look like.”
British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned earlier this month alongside another minister, stating that the government was neither willing nor able to commit the resources Britain needs to “defend the country at this time of rising threats.” At last year’s NATO summit, members agreed to spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defense, and the U.K. committed to hitting that target by 2035. However, Healey said the proposed defense investment plan would only bring spending to 2.68% of GDP by 2030.
The new defense secretary, Dan Jarvis, has pledged that Britain will honor its commitments, and the British government has agreed to publish its spending plan.
Stringer said the U.K. is “as beholden” as any other member to having a credible path to the 3.5% target by the time of the summit. He warned that Britain cannot rely on its reputation for strategic leadership within NATO alone, and must back that up with actual “forces and resources.”
At last year’s summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte managed to keep Trump engaged by framing the meeting as a major win for his push to get allies to spend more. Stringer said this year’s summit must demonstrate “cohesion and unity” among all 32 members, while also featuring honest conversations and credible action plans.
Raitasalo said the meeting must go beyond the usual “communiques, roadmaps and action plans” and show deterrence through real action. He warned that if NATO members fail to turn promises into deeds, the “credibility” of the entire alliance is on the line.
