NATO alliance considers end to annual summits

NATO is considering ending its recent practice of holding annual ​summits, six sources told Reuters, a move that could avoid a potentially tense encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump in his final ‌year in office. Trump’s administration has engaged repeatedly in scathing criticism of many of the U.S.-led defence alliance’s 31 other members, most recently berating some for not providing more assistance to U.S. military operations against Iran.

The frequency of NATO summits has varied over the alliance’s 77-year history but its leaders have met every summer since 2021 and will gather this year in the Turkish capital Ankara ​on July 7 and 8. But some members are pushing to slow the tempo, a senior European official and five diplomats, all from NATO member countries. One diplomat said the 2027 summit, to be held in Albania, would ⁠likely take place that autumn and NATO was considering not holding one at all in 2028. However, no decision had been taken and Secretary General Mark Rutte would have ​the final say.