NATO update

 

26 June 2026 Update Secretary General meets President Trump in Washington: “Europe is stepping up” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with US President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. on 25 June 2026, to prepare for the Ankara Summit in July. At the White House, the Secretary General thanked President Trump for his leadership. “The Europeans and Canada are now on a trajectory to equalise their spending with the United States”, Mr Rutte told reporters at the White House. “It was a problem since Eisenhower – this President got this done.” Read more NATO Deputy Secretary General highlights innovation and support for Ukraine at Recovery Conference NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland, on 25 June 2026, where she spoke about the changing dynamics on the battlefield, the role of innovation and technology in modern deterrence and defence, and the need to step up military support for Ukraine. Read more NATO helps North Macedonia and Ukraine strengthen their resilience during large-scale emergencies On 23 June 2026, NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska presided over the launch of the second phase of a project by the NATO Science for Peace and Security to deal with large-scale emergencies. Read more NATO Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia visits Azerbaijan On 25 and 26 June 2026, the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Ambassador Kevin Hamilton, paid his first official visit to Azerbaijan. He met with Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov. Discussions focused on the evolution of the NATO-Azerbaijan partnership and on current regional security issues. He also gave an update on preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara. Read more NATO’s largest medical exercise strengthens Allied medical readiness Vigorous Warrior 2026 (VW26), NATO’s largest multinational medical exercise, concluded in Estonia, bringing together 38 Allied and partner countries from 8 to 20 June. Hosted by Estonia and coordinated by the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (NATO MILMED COE), the exercise strengthened military medical support for large-scale combat operations and advanced interoperability, innovation and civil-military cooperation across the Alliance. Read more NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Partnerships visits Moldova On 17 and 18 June 2026, Ambassador Kevin Hamilton, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Partnerships, paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova. He shared views on Moldova’s partnership with NATO and on topics of mutual interest for the Alliance and Moldova with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mihai Popșoi, the National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Moldova, Stanislav Secrieru, and the and Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence, Ghenadie Cojocaru. Read more NATO and the Republic of Korea discuss military cooperation On 24 June 2026, NATO hosted military staff talks with the Republic of Korea at NATO HQ in Brussels. Discussions focused on the ongoing partnership, interoperability and future opportunities for enhanced cooperation. The meeting took place under the auspices of the NATO Cooperative Security Division. Read more NATO Headquarters hosts the 25th EUMS–IMS Directors’ General Conference On 22 June 2026, the Director General of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS), Lieutenant General Remigijus Baltrėnas welcomed the Director General of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS), Lieutenant General Michiel van der Laan for the biannual EUMS–IMS Directors’ General Conference. Read more NATO delivers training for Ukraine’s public affairs teams On 3 June 2026, NATO led a public affairs training course for personnel from Ukrainian security and defence institutions for the first time. The course was part of a multi-year strategic communications project funded through the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine (CAP). Read more Mission North: Why the Arctic matters to NATO The Arctic is changing — and so is NATO's posture in the High North. As melting ice opens new sea routes and strategic competition intensifies, NATO has launched Arctic Sentry: a new initiative to synchronise all Allied activities across the region into one unified operational approach. Watch Video

NATO HQ, Blvd Leopold III 1110 Brussels, Belgium