NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, speaking in Ankara ahead of the alliance’s annual summit, urged member nations to submit explicit and credible proposals for meeting the organization’s new defense-spending benchmarks. Rutte praised the recent financial commitments from European allies and Canada, noting that combined defense investments in 2024 and 2025 are projected to be $258 billion higher than in prior years. However, these figures may not meet the demands of the Trump administration, which has pushed for allies to shoulder a greater share of the burden and has warned of consequences for those failing to act. The 32-member alliance agreed last year to target 5% of GDP on defense, while some nations still struggle to reach the earlier 2% goal. Rutte declined to specify what penalties noncompliant countries might face.