The President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, addressed the parliamentary summit of NATO member countries in Istanbul. In his speech, he called for Europe to take on greater responsibility for NATO's defense capabilities, and also spoke about the need to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine. The parliamentary summit of the North Atlantic Alliance is being held in Istanbul on June 28-29, just before the NATO summit in Ankara.
"We need more activity, more determination, more responsibility, and more unity; this must be our common goal. We must not forget that the greatest value and the most powerful force of NATO is our alliance, the trust in the commitment that allies stand by each other. We all know what the situation is in the world today, and we all know that a necessary condition for the strength and credibility of our alliance is defense spending," said the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, in his speech.
He also emphasized that Europe must take on greater responsibility for NATO's defense capabilities. "A stronger Europe means a stronger NATO. The United States remains an indispensable ally, but European countries must be prepared to bear a greater share of the responsibility for the security of our continent. To achieve this, we need a stronger European defense industry, greater production capacity, and deeper cooperation," said the President, Vystrčil.
In his speech, he also thanked the Ukrainian soldiers and the entire country of Ukraine. According to him, supporting Ukraine is an investment in European security. "Therefore, we must continue to provide military assistance and further support, while at the same time creating conditions for a just and lasting peace," added the head of the Senate.
The NATO parliamentary summit in Istanbul is being held on June 28-29, 2026. The topics of discussion include key issues related to transatlantic security, parliamentary diplomacy, cooperation in the field of defense, and the evolving NATO security agenda. The Czech Republic is represented at the meeting by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura.
The program on Monday began with speeches by the individual presidents of the parliaments, followed by an official lunch hosted by the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, and attended by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. At the end of the summit, participants will visit the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center.
President of the Senate of the Czech Republic