ICYMI: Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Tillis Preview 2026 NATO Summit at Atlantic Council Event

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, joined an Atlantic Council Front Page event to discuss the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara. Ranking Member Shaheen emphasized the importance of having a united NATO alliance in support of Ukraine and increased defense spending among Allies going into the 2026 NATO Summit. Key quotes from Senator Shaheen from the event are included below.

Watch the full event with Ranking Member Shaheen and Senator Tillis here.

2026 NATO Summit

• "First of all, I think it's very important for us to have a united NATO. The worst thing that can happen, the best thing for Vladimir Putin, for President Xi in China, for our adversaries is to see a NATO that's not united, that's split."

• "[There has been a] 20 percent increase in defense spending among the NATO countries in the last year. So, we're making progress."

• "Obviously there's a lot more work that needs to be done, but I think if we can go into this NATO summit unified with one voice, on Ukraine in particular, on how we're going to respond to the war, with one voice on addressing concerns that the NATO countries are facing globally, that that will be a positive summit and a positive statement for the world."

• "As part of NATO we have interoperable systems. Well, if we can do that on the battlefield, then we ought to be able to do that in the manufacturing floor."

Russia and Ukraine

• "Clearly there's still a threat, and the threat is much more imminent for Europe than it is for the United States as we look at Russia, as we look at even the partnership between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran."

• "One of the eye openers for me as a member of the Armed Services Committee has been, and I think this is true across the board, has been to realize that with the war in Ukraine, that the defense stockpile that we thought we had for weapons is not as good as we thought it was, that the industrial base is not as prolific as we thought it was in terms of responding to the need, and I think the war in Ukraine has really been an eye opener."

• "The war in Ukraine has showed us is the changing nature of war. And war looks a lot different now than it did at the start of the war in Ukraine. And it's going to look a whole lot different in a couple of years because of AI and what that means. And so, we've got to figure some of these issues out and there's no time to waste because what we're seeing is how fast things are changing, how fast the technology is iterating because of what's happening in Ukraine."

• "And I think the House passing the bill on a discharge petition last week was a very good sign. It's not clear if the Senate will take up that bill, but we also have the Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill that's been rewritten in a way that we think is going to garner even more support, and we're hoping to have an announcement on that very soon."

Iran

• "What I have seen is a full capitulation to Iran."

• "We need to know what was agreed to and whether we have accomplished any of the aims that were set out at the start of this war, because so far, based on the scorecard I'm keeping, I don't see what the wins are."

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