Prospects for Ukraine and a Look Ahead to Ankara

The past month has featured a series of major transatlantic gatherings that together tell an important story about where the alliance is headed. At the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Sweden, allies focused on strengthening Europe's role within NATO through higher defense spending, expanded defense industrial production, and continued support for Ukraine. But the meeting also underscored growing uncertainty about America’s long-term role in European security following the announcement of a U.S. review of its military posture in Europe, a move that reinforced allies’ concerns that the future of the U.S. military presence on the continent will shrink.  The G7 summit in France offered a more optimistic note. Leaders pledged additional military support for Ukraine, including air defense and long-range capabilities. And many came away encouraged that President Trump appeared to be taking a tougher line toward Vladimir Putin. But we've seen this movie before. Trump has repeatedly shifted between promises of greater pressure on Russia and renewed optimism about engaging Putin, making it far too early to conclude that a lasting change in U.S. policy is underway.  That brings us to the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7th and 8th, where those competing trends will be put to the test. Expectations are pretty modest. Allies will be looking for reassurances about America’s long-term commitment to Europe, greater clarity on the U.S. posture review, and evidence that recent optimism on Ukraine is warranted. At the same time, leaders will be trying to maintain alliance unity while advancing Europe’s growing role in its own defense.   To connect all these dots and look forward, we're very happy to have Benedetta Berti and Kurt Volker back on Brussels Sprouts.  Benedetta Berti is the Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.  Ambassador Kurt Volker is the Advisory Board Co-Chair for BGR Group and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations.