Kristen Michal: NATO Decisions in Ankara Will Make the Alliance Stronger and Estonia More Secure

"The most important message from Ankara is that NATO remains united, the Allies are committed to collective defence, and that benefits us all. Europe is taking greater responsibility for its own security, and given Russia's long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security, we must move swiftly towards achieving the 5% defence spending target. Estonia ranks among NATO's top three countries in terms of defence spending. We will also invest USD 30 billion (€26 billion) in defence over the next ten years, half of which will go towards armaments and military capabilities," said Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

According to Michal, the Allies are committed to ensuring that increased defence spending is matched by growth in defence industrial production, allowing investments to be translated into real military capabilities as quickly as possible. Since 2025, Allies have invested approximately USD 37 billion (€32 billion) in expanding their defence industrial production capacity. For Estonia, key priorities also include establishing defence industrial parks, increasing ammunition production capacity, and developing defence technologies, including in cooperation with Ukraine.

"In Ankara, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I signed the Estonia-Ukraine agreement on drone cooperation. This means that world-leading expertise, proven in combat, will become available to us and help strengthen our defence capabilities, including air defence. It also creates new opportunities for cooperation and joint production for our defence industry. Our bilateral agreement is fully aligned with NATO's Drone Edge initiative, under which Allies intend to invest more than USD 40 billion (€35 billion) in developing counter-drone and drone operational capabilities," Michal said.

In addition, Estonia joined an initiative by 12 countries to invest a total of more than USD 50 billion (nearly €44 billion) over the next ten years in deep-strike capabilities. This demonstrates that European Allies are assuming greater responsibility for strategically important capabilities.

NATO also continues to strengthen collective defence. At the Summit, Allies updated NATO's air and missile defence plan, transforming the existing air policing mission into air defence and enabling faster and more flexible responses to a wide range of aerial threats.

"Estonia's and the Alliance's defence is continuously ensured by Allied fighter aircraft stationed in Estonia. The updated plan will provide better protection for NATO airspace, including Estonian airspace, against all types of threats by intercepting attacks and neutralising threats," Michal explained.

At the Summit, the Allies also reaffirmed their clear commitment to provide Ukraine with €70 billion in support this year and next.

The Ankara Summit Declaration: https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2026/07/08/the-ankara-summit-declaration

Government Communication Unit