NATO Leaders Meet in Ankara to Ease Tensions With Trump

NATO leaders convene in Ankara next week for a summit that European allies hope will repair strained transatlantic ties, reaffirm the alliance’s commitment to Ukraine, and demonstrate that European members are shouldering a greater share of collective defense — without triggering another public confrontation with President Donald Trump.

Summit Set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Turkey

The two-day meeting, hosted by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, will bring together the leaders of all 32 NATO member states, including Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend a dinner hosted by Erdogan, who will also hold separate bilateral talks with Trump — a dynamic European officials are counting on to help keep the summit on track.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the gathering will focus on translating increased defense spending into operational military capabilities and scaling up Europe’s defense industrial base. He is expected to announce arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars, and leaders are anticipated to pledge continued weapons funding for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

European Defense Spending at Record Levels

European officials are arriving in Ankara with a significant number to point to: NATO’s European members and Canada collectively spent $90 billion more on defense in 2025 than in the previous year, reaching a total exceeding $570 billion. Last year’s Hague summit raised the NATO defense spending target to 3.5% of GDP on core military items — up from the previous 2% goal — with an additional 1.5% of GDP committed to broader defense-related investments including cybersecurity.

“NATO is, and will always be, a transatlantic alliance, but we need to rebalance it for the better,” Rutte said in Berlin on Wednesday. “Working closely with the United States, European allies and Canada are taking greater responsibility for conventional defense in Europe.”

Strains From Iran War and Greenland Threats Linger

The past year has severely tested the alliance. Trump threatened to seize Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, waged a war against Iran that roiled the global economy without consulting European allies, and announced troop withdrawals from Europe alongside cuts to forces assigned to NATO’s defense plans — including an aircraft carrier, refueling aircraft, fighter jets, and drones. A six-month review of the US military presence on the continent is also underway.

The Iran conflict in particular damaged personal relationships between Trump and several European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump suggested at one point that European reluctance to support US military operations in Iran might affect Washington’s commitment to Article 5, NATO’s mutual defense clause — a comment that alarmed allies across the continent.

On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States was spending money to protect NATO members “without getting any benefit from so doing,” signaling that familiar tensions have not fully dissipated.

Europeans Hope for a Repeat of the Hague Summit

The benchmark European officials are measuring against is last year’s Hague summit, where Trump reaffirmed the US commitment to NATO and Article 5, and praised his fellow leaders — a notably smoother performance than many had feared heading into that meeting.

European officials are hoping the NATO summit Ankara Trump dynamic will follow a similar script, buoyed by Trump’s strong personal relationships with both Erdogan and Rutte. But they acknowledge the outcome is far from guaranteed, particularly if tensions over the Iran ceasefire — currently fragile — flare up during the summit week.

“The alliance is alive and kicking but a bit bruised,” said one European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. A senior NATO diplomat offered cautious optimism: “I’m optimistic because I think the leaders know what is at stake. And if something like that does occur, then we always have the ultimate marriage counsellor, Mark Rutte, to smooth things over.”