U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the next NATO summit, to be held in Turkey on July 7 and 8, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday, arguing that the Alliance needs sweeping reform, according to AFP and EFE.

“The president himself will attend the next NATO summit. We remain in NATO, but NATO needs significant changes,” Rubio told a parliamentary committee.

He also believes that this summit, which will bring together the 32 member countries in the Turkish capital of Ankara, “is undoubtedly the most important in the organization’s history, as there are certain issues that need to be clarified and resolved.”

Trump constantly criticizes European allies after they refused to join him in the war he launched alongside Israel against Iran.

However, at the previous summit, held last year in The Hague, he managed to compel these allies—with the exception of Spain—to increase their defense budgets to 5% of GDP, in phases by 2035, a percentage broken down into 3.5% for strictly military expenditures and 1.5% for funding defense-related investments, such as critical infrastructure, strengthening the defense industry, cyber defense, etc.

According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Ankara summit will also include an assessment of how member states intend to achieve this goal by presenting a “credible trajectory.”

At the same summit, NATO will also reaffirm its commitment to continue supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in attendance.

Source: Agerpres