Final Word from Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Ankara is the summit that proves ex-Amb. to Nato Jakub Landovský wrong. Before taking his current post as envoy for Nato commitments, he told Czech Radio that Europe's problem was that it had no alternative to Donald Trump's peace plan for Ukraine and hadn't had one since the start of the war. "It's hiding behind empty statements like, 'We'll stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,' or 'We'll help it as much as it takes,'" Landovský said. He couldn't speak openly like this before, he said, because he was part of the system, but if you want to win, empty phrases aren't enough. Things have progressed since then. The Nato summit last year set Europe on a course toward higher defense spending, and the Ankara summit is showing that many of the European members do indeed have a plan. Yet it's not a plan that answers the question of how to end the destruction of Ukraine. It's one for deepening Europe's own financial problems by borrowing money for an arms buildup that otherwise resolves nothing. [ ambassador Turkey Hague cabinet ]