NATO summit in Turkey deemed successful from Latvia's perspective

Māris Riekstiņš, Latvia's ambassador to NATO, stated in an interview with Latvian Television's program "Rīta panorāma" that the recent NATO summit in Turkey was very successful for Latvia. Although the summit did not produce major headlines, its declaration captured a unified view of allied leaders on key issues, serving as both a public communication tool and a foundation for future work.

The ambassador emphasized that the summit reaffirmed support for collective defense and Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which has often been questioned. This unity is important not only for the citizens of the alliance but also for potential adversaries, to show that the alliance continues to work together.

Riekstiņš noted that the summit evaluated the implementation of previous decisions, especially regarding additional financial investments in defense. It was documented that European allies and Canada had made additional investments of $140 billion (USD) in strengthening their defense capabilities over the past year. This is significant given previous criticisms from the U.S. about the uneven financial burden.

An important achievement was the unified stance that Russia is one of the two main threats to NATO security, alongside international terrorism. Riekstiņš described this not as a political slogan, but as a basis for further work in countering threats.

Finally, the summit confirmed the commitment to continue military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. In early July, NATO leaders in Ankara pledged €140 billion in military aid to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027.

The declaration also stressed that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons and called for respect of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.