European NATO countries pledged to invest 5% of their GDP in defense by 2035, according to the final communiqué adopted at the summit in The Hague. The declaration also includes a clause confirming “the unwavering commitment of the 32 countries to collective defense, enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – that an attack on one is an attack on all.”
Ukraine is also mentioned in the document: “Allies reaffirm their unwavering sovereign commitment to support Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and to this end will take into account direct contributions to Ukraine’s defense and defense industry when calculating Allies’ defense spending.”
The document does not directly condemn Russia’s aggression, but it points to its “long-term threat” to Euro-Atlantic security; neither is there a promise of Ukraine’s admission to the Alliance.
On the summit’s sidelines, President Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump met for about an hour. “It was a long and meaningful meeting. We covered all the really important issues. We talked about how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump, in turn, called the meeting excellent and said that he did not end the war in 24 hours, as he had promised, because “it is more difficult than anyone could have imagined.” “I will talk to Putin, see if I can stop the war,” Trump said after the meeting.