Helsingborg FMM Day 2: Rutte-Rubio Bilateral and Joint Statement; 0.25% Ukraine Pledge Deferred to Ankara; SACEUR Confirms More US Troop Withdrawals Expected

The formal Day 2 plenary of the Helsingborg emergency NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting on May 22, 2026 concluded with a Rutte-Rubio bilateral meeting and joint appearance — the most closely watched diplomatic encounter in the alliance's post-Iran-war period — but produced no formal communiqué on US troop reductions and no adoption of the contested 0.25% GDP Ukraine military pledge. **Rutte-Rubio bilateral and joint appearance:** The bilateral followed the morning ministerial plenary. Rutte struck a deescalatory tone: 'The money is now coming in. Defense spending is rapidly ramping up — tens of billions, and over the years there are hundreds of billions coming in.' He acknowledged the defense industrial base — 'not producing enough' — as a shared transatlantic problem to be resolved ahead of Ankara. Rubio's public framing was notably conditional: 'Like any alliance, it has to be good for everyone who's involved. There has to be a clear understanding of what the expectations are.' Rubio reiterated that Trump and senior officials remain 'very disappointed' with NATO, specifically over the alliance's response to the Iran conflict and Spain's refusal to provide military base access at Morón and Rota during Operation Epic Fury — the episode that prompted Rubio's public questioning of NATO's purpose for the US. **0.25% Ukraine GDP pledge — not adopted:** Rutte confirmed the mandatory 0.25% of GDP Ukraine military pledge he had proposed to NATO ambassadors in late April will not advance in its current form. France, the United Kingdom, and several western European allies opposed the rigid formula, fearing it would strain national defense budgets and entrench the conflict. The pledge is expected to be repackaged in a softer, non-binding format ahead of the Ankara Leaders' Summit (July 7–8). Ukrainian FM Sybiha, who attended both Day 1's NATO-Ukraine Council dinner at Sofiero Palace and Day 2's morning session, pressed allies for a binding commitment rather than deferral — but the consensus could not be formed. **SACEUR: More US troop withdrawals expected:** NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe confirmed to Army Times that additional US troop withdrawals from Europe are expected and that Europe should 'absolutely' plan for them. The communiqué language emerging from Helsingborg codifies the structural rebalance: 'Europe takes primary responsibility for conventional defense while the US maintains nuclear deterrence and strategic intelligence functions.' **Day 2 plenary agenda:** The formal plenary covered four clusters: (1) Ukraine support — sustaining aid 'in a substantial, sustainable and predictable form' via PURL (which has supplied ~70% of all Patriot battery missiles); (2) delivering on the 5%-GDP-by-2035 Hague Summit commitments; (3) eastern flank force structure post-10,200+ US drawdowns; (4) groundwork for the Ankara Leaders' Summit (July 7–8). Rutte closed at 13:45 press conference: 'The question is not whether we need to do more. The question is how quickly we turn commitments into capabilities.' **Next milestone:** Ankara NATO Leaders' Summit, July 7–8, 2026 — Turkey hosts for the first time since Istanbul 2004. Open items: whether Zelensky receives a formal summit invitation, the reformulated (non-binding) Ukraine pledge language, and the alliance's response to additional US troop drawdowns.