NATO summit: Ukraine got everything it needed

Of course, the former Dutch Prime Minister, who held office for 13 years, had home-field advantage. He looked like a skilled conductor leading an orchestra that sometimes stumbles or doesn’t know the notes.

After the G7 summit in Canada, the outlook was apocalyptical: from fears of a scandal to predictions of the Alliance’s collapse. European leaders fully understood the risks. They did everything they could to keep the U.S. on board. Rutte paid attention to every detail to make Trump feel at ease: red carpets, dinner and breakfast with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, warm speeches, a short 2.5-hour plenary session, and a brief final declaration.

The declaration, which included aid for Ukraine, was signed by both President Trump and Prime Minister Orbán. How was that possible? That’s diplomacy.

For the first time, various forums were active on the summit sidelines, ranging from public discussions to defense industry talks. Even though the Ukraine-NATO meeting wasn’t officially on the agenda, June 23 was effectively all about Ukraine. Most of the key decisions were made before Trump arrived. This time, no one dragged out the usual debate over Ukraine’s membership. Instead, a record €35 billion in aid was allocated, on top of what had already been provided.

Ukraine got everything it needed.

The meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy capped it all off. It’s good that it happened. And it went smoothly. Was it The Hague's atmosphere? Or maybe the collapse of the U.S. peace mission in the Middle East. The nuclear topic clearly unsettles Trump. I wouldn’t rule out that Medvedev’s recent threat that Russia could help Iran build a nuclear bomb affected him too.

Trump acted reasonably at the summit. His tone on Ukraine shifted. He even called Zelenskyy “nice” and said, for the first time, that he wants to help Ukraine. I don’t know how long this new tone will last. But Trump now seems to understand that the Russia-Ukraine war can’t be ended with a 24-hour command. He called his earlier statement "sarcastic." Looks like he finally got the point.

The NATO summit showed that Europe can defend itself. And it seems Trump saw that. For the first time in the Alliance’s history, close coordination between the EU and NATO was on full display. The Kremlin took note and responded by suspending the Istanbul talks. These brutes will cook up something...

And we have to keep doing our job... What matters most is that we still have people who can do it.

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About the author. Roman Bezsmertnyi, Ukrainian politician, statesman, diplomat

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.