NATO chief Mark Rutte has put the pressure on European members and Canada to accelerate military spending to meet that of the US, as members gather in Ankara for the NATO annual summit.
Speaking at a side event with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, both officials lead the war-drive charge by repeating the the same war-mongering mantras that we need to prepare for war in order to stop it. Noticeably absent was any attempt at dialogue or ceasefire. This followed with a demand for members to deliver 5% of GDP on military spending and for their economies to turn to war.
“There’s also an expectation . . . that the Europeans and the Canadians will equalise their spending with the United States, which I think, and many of the colleagues in the room today think, is completely fair,” Rutte said.
In 2025, European NATO countries had a combined military spending of $559 billion (£596.5bn) in 2025, with Canada spending $37.5bn – compared to the US spending of $954bn. Is Rutte really suggesting that the EU NATO states and Canada find another $358 billion for further military expenditure.
US President Donald Trump’s contribution to the summit has been worrying – refreashing threats made earlier this year to invade Greenland and calling for trade to be cut off with Spain. Overnight, the US recommenced air strikes on Iran with Trump declaring the memorandum of understadning that was to lay the basis of a lasting peace agreement “over.”
This rhetoric comes as we continue to see an escalation of violence in the war between Russia and Ukraine. According to the UN, May was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilian causalities since the start of the conflict. From the beginning of 2026, there has been a massive acceleration in long-range drone attacks by both Ukraine – assisted by US intelligence – and by Russia. Tens of thousands of drone attacks are being launched monthly and this is only intensifying.
Nuclear threats are intensifying too. Alongside Russia’s deployment of its nuclear weapons to Belarus, the US has stationed a new generation of nuclear weapons, the B61-12, at European NATO bases. French President Emmanuel Macron is leading an initative to deploy French Rafale nuclear-armed fighter jets to even more European countries, including Poland – right on Russia’s border. Finland and Lithuania are also paving the way for potential nuclear deployments on Russia’s border by removing their constitutional opposition to nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Britain’s purchase of the F-35A nuclear-capable jets for NATO deployment will only add to threats of nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO.
CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt said:
“The frenzy of military spending and war mongering at this NATO summit is absolutely obscene. At this moment, hundreds of thousands of men are trying to flee conscription in Ukraine and Russia. They do not want to lose their lives for this devastating conflict. NATO re-armament across Europe will only result in hundreds of thousands more people being killed – and a very real possibility of a nuclear confrontation between nuclear-armed NATO and Russia.We need political leaders to listen to their populations, not to Trump, Rutte, von der Leyen, or the arms industry. Our planet is burning and we face a global recession. We need to solve these problems now. Not rush towards annihilation.”