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As NATO leaders prepare for the summit in Turkey next week, the alliance's plans for a summit in Albania next year have been called into question.
Radio Free Europe has confirmed from sources that Tirana is not mentioned in the draft declaration for the NATO summit to be held in Ankara next week as the location where the next summit will be held.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing sources, said that holding the summit in Tirana has been called into question due to resistance from the US administration and dissatisfaction among allied states with Albania's low defense spending.
The lack of mention of Albania in the draft declaration comes as European NATO members aim to prove to US President Donald Trump in Ankara that they have made progress on their defense spending commitments and aim to avoid a direct clash with the American leader.
One of Reuters' sources said that Albania's defense spending is such that if the NATO summit were held in this country in 2027, Trump might be angry.
A European diplomat said the latest version of the statement text emphasizes that the leaders are looking forward to their next meeting, without specifying the time and place where this meeting will be held.
"Drafts are drafts, not decisions," an Albanian government spokesman told Reuters when asked about the draft declaration, which is still being negotiated and could be subject to changes.
The White House declined to comment, while a NATO official said they would not comment on the matter at this time.
In recent years, official NATO summit statements have made explicit reference to the location of the next summit. At the summit in The Hague last year, leaders said in their statement that they “look forward to meeting in Turkey in 2026 and then in Albania.”
At the same summit, NATO leaders responded to Trump's demand to commit to 5 percent of Gross Domestic Product in defense spending within a decade.
States have pledged to spend 3.5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on basic defense issues such as troops and weapons, and 1.5 percent on other defense-related measures, such as cybersecurity.
While many NATO countries have increased their defense budgets in recent months, some countries have yet to meet the previous 2 percent spending target.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said earlier this month that almost all alliance countries have reached the 2 percent target.
"Last year, Albania, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia did not achieve this, but they are committed to increasing spending above 2 percent this year," he said.
The Albanian government said in a statement to Reuters that it is "finalizing the necessary fiscal measures to harmonize Albania's defense and defense-related spending for 2026 based on the trajectory agreed with NATO allies at the Hague summit."
"Once these measures are approved in the coming days, Albania's defense and defense-related spending for 2026 will reach 2.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product in accordance with the NATO Defense Expenditure Methodology. Of these, 2.2 percent of GDP represents core defense spending, while 0.4 percent represents other defense and security-related spending," the statement said.
A European diplomat said that Albania could still host the summit.
"They are increasing spending, let's see what this will produce," the diplomat said, adding that "I still believe that the next summit will be in Albania."/REL
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