French President Emmanuel Macron's office said Friday that the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara will center on European security, support for Ukraine and the realignment of US-European efforts.
The Elysee Palace said during a news briefing that the challenge of the summit would be for Europeans to take greater responsibility for their own security, for allies' support for Ukraine, and for Europeans and Americans to realign their efforts.
It said the summit reflected the core principles Macron had pursued for years by centering on European strategic autonomy, greater burden-sharing, continued support for Ukraine and the need to rebuild convergence with the US through greater responsibility-sharing.
Macron's office also said the summit is expected to confirm a commitment to provide around €70 billion (about $80 billion) in support for Ukraine in 2026, with a similar level of support in 2027. It, however, underlined that the commitment could be subject to final adjustments.
The Elysee Palace also stressed the need for NATO to assess the risk of escalation by Russia, noting that such a review is inherent to the alliance's mission.
When asked what capabilities France is prepared to make available to the alliance to compensate for US reductions under the NATO force model, Macron's office clarified that France is not going to replace US capabilities.
However, it said European allies need to consider a new capability model for NATO.
The Elysee Palace also said there will probably be a bilateral meeting between Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the summit.
Without giving specific details on the agenda of the meeting, it said their discussion would cover the full range of issues in the two countries' bilateral relationship.
The statement also recalled that the message Macron will bring to the NATO summit includes Europeans taking greater responsibility for their security and future, continued support for Ukraine, and strengthening convergence between the US and Europeans.
