Ankara, Turkey. NATO leaders will gather in Ankara next Tuesday and Wednesday as European members seek to move past tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump and show they are increasing their role in defending the continent.
Summit focus
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the meeting will show that European allies are honouring commitments to raise defence spending to deter Russia from any attack, with arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars expected to be signed.
Leaders are also expected to pledge continued funding for weapons for Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.
Attendance and diplomacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend a dinner hosted by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who is also set to hold bilateral talks with Trump.
European officials said they hope Trump’s relationships with Erdogan and Rutte will help ensure a smooth summit, though they remain uncertain because of continuing transatlantic bitterness over the Iran war and Trump’s repeated criticism of NATO.
Trump criticism and NATO response
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said the United States was spending money to protect NATO members “without getting any benefit from so doing”.
Rutte and other NATO leaders have said the alliance contributes to the security of the United States and that European members are responding to Trump’s longstanding calls to increase their own defence spending.
Rutte on European responsibility
“The summit next week will focus on turning extra spending into combat-ready capabilities, and significantly scaling up our defence industries,” Rutte said in Berlin on Wednesday.
“NATO is, and will always be, a transatlantic alliance but we need to rebalance it for the better,” he added. “Working closely with the United States, European allies and Canada are taking greater responsibility for conventional defence in Europe.”
Rutte said last month that NATO’s European members and Canada spent $90 billion more on defence in 2025 than in the previous year, bringing the total to more than $570 billion.
