The long anticipated NATO summit in Ankara opened in precisely the way many of America’s allies had feared, with sharp criticism from the White House directed at the Alliance’s European members.
“I am very disappointed with NATO,” US President Donald Trump said shortly after arriving in Turkey. He repeated that the United States had received insufficient support from its allies, referring to the recent conflict with Iran.
Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a joint press conference, Trump said he might not even have attended the summit had it not been held in Turkey, describing Erdoğan as “a strong leader” and “a very strong person.”
“If it had not been held in Turkey, where my friend is a very strong leader, a very strong person, I might not have attended,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of withdrawing American troops from Europe.
He criticised NATO for what he described as its failure to support the United States during operations against Iran.
“We were not treated well because we did something in Iran,” Trump said, adding that Washington spends enormous sums on NATO to protect European countries, Canada and other allies. He argued that America’s partners should have been more willing to support the United States but had failed to do so.
“We were not treated well because we did something in Iran. We don’t need anybody’s help. I didn’t even want help. They said they wouldn’t be there, yet we’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO. Why? To protect European countries, Canada and others, to protect people and countries from what used to be the Soviet Union and is now Russia. That’s fine, but you would think they would have been very willing to do something to help us, and they really weren’t.”
Trump hopes for Ukraine peace deal
Turning to the war in Ukraine, Trump said he believes the conflict can be resolved and expressed hope that an agreement could be reached soon.
He revealed during his meeting with Erdoğan that he had held a “very good” and lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think they both want to make a deal. I think we’ll get it done, hopefully soon,” Trump said.
Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet on the sidelines of the summit following months of Ukrainian strikes against Russia’s energy sector and intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, including strikes that Ukrainian authorities say killed 50 people in Kyiv during July.
Zelensky previously stated that he intends to discuss Ukraine’s urgent need for additional air defence systems with Trump in order to protect the country from Russian ballistic missile attacks.
Erdoğan seeks positive decision on F 35 programme
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he expects the summit to produce a positive decision regarding the delivery of F 35 fighter aircraft to Turkey, noting that the United States had already promised to provide five aircraft.
During talks with Trump at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Erdoğan said the F 35 issue was not new and had already been discussed with Washington.
“The F 35 issue is nothing new for us. We discussed it previously with the United States and received a promise that we would receive five aircraft. I believe this leaders’ summit will produce a favourable decision regarding the F 35 programme.”
Erdoğan added that he believes Trump remains committed to his earlier promise.
“I know that the previous commitment regarding the F 35 is now moving in a positive direction. Mr Trump always stands by his word.”
The Turkish president described Trump’s visit to Ankara as an important boost to bilateral relations.
“I am very pleased that we are together in Ankara. I especially want to emphasise how important this visit is.”
Discussing relations between Iran and the United States, Erdoğan said Turkey is working to improve ties between the two countries.
“We are trying to place relations between Iran and America on a healthier foundation. We are doing everything we can to contribute to world peace.”
On the war in Gaza, Erdoğan said he would discuss possible paths towards peace with Trump.
“We will discuss Gaza and we believe this leaders’ summit is extremely important for achieving peace in the region.”
He also announced that discussions with Trump would include engines for Turkey’s indigenous KAAN fighter aircraft.
Rutte backs Trump’s pressure on allies
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sought to soften the impact of Trump’s criticism, arguing that the US president had been right to pressure Alliance members into increasing defence spending, modernising their armed forces and confronting Iran.
“The American president was right. I simply like the man. I think what he is doing for NATO is excellent news,” Rutte said in an interview.
According to Rutte, Trump is finally achieving what successive American presidents have sought since the time of Dwight Eisenhower, namely a fairer balance in defence spending between the United States and Europe.
He described this year’s summit as “transformational” for the Alliance and said it would bring billions of dollars in new investment into key defence programmes.
“You have to build a NATO that is sustainable, where Europeans and Canadians genuinely step up.”
Rutte also identified Russian President Vladimir Putin as another major reason for increased defence spending, saying NATO allies remain determined to continue supporting Ukraine financially and militarily while strengthening their own armed forces to deter any future Russian aggression.
Despite differences within the Alliance, Rutte stressed that NATO remains united with the United States as a full partner.
He announced that member states will invest around 40 billion dollars over the next five years in anti drone capabilities.
Several NATO countries have also committed themselves to cooperating on the procurement, storage, transport and management of critical defence materials.
According to Rutte, the Ankara summit is intended to demonstrate that NATO members are investing in defence, rebalancing their security systems and strengthening their industrial base.
“During the NATO summit in Ankara, new contracts worth tens of billions of dollars will be signed with companies from Europe and North America. We will also confirm investments in critical technologies needed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s security challenges.”
Rutte also announced that NATO will launch a strategic fleet of A400M transport aircraft, expand its multinational fleet of A330 MRTT tanker aircraft and acquire up to ten Saab GlobalEye airborne surveillance aircraft to replace its ageing AWACS fleet.
Trump criticises Italy over Iran
President Trump said he likes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni but criticised her government’s position during the conflict with Iran.
“I like her. She’s a good person, but she wasn’t with us when it came to Iran,” Trump said during his bilateral meeting with Erdoğan.
Although Trump and Meloni previously enjoyed warm relations, ties reportedly cooled following the conflict with Iran.
Lavrov warns NATO
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said NATO’s drive towards greater militarisation would ultimately end in failure.
“If they want to militarise to the limit, it will ultimately end in defeat in their race for superiority,” Lavrov told reporters.
He argued that European countries, including Germany, can no longer conceal the weakness of their economies, claiming that welfare programmes are under pressure and parts of Europe’s civilian industry are relocating to the United States because of more favourable business conditions.
Speaking about NATO’s relationship with Russia, Lavrov dismissed the Alliance’s claim that it is not at war with Russia.
“For now they say they are not fighting us, but that is simply not sincere.”
According to Lavrov, Ukraine continues to receive weapons, intelligence and satellite data through the direct involvement of European and American military structures.
Turkish Air Force secures summit skies
Turkish military aircraft are playing a central role in securing the NATO summit, maintaining continuous air patrols over Ankara for 60 hours.
Turkey’s Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, based at the Third Main Jet Base in Konya, are equipped with advanced radar systems capable of monitoring air and maritime activity in all directions and detecting multiple targets at distances of up to 400 kilometres.
The aircraft can transmit real time information on detected targets to ground command centres, fighter aircraft and naval units operating in the area.
Commemorative NATO stamp issued
Turkey’s national postal service has released a commemorative stamp and special envelope marking the 36th NATO Summit in Ankara.
The stamp is priced at 45 Turkish lira, while the commemorative envelope costs twice as much.
The blue stamp features the NATO emblem and measures 36 by 52 millimetres. It is available through the Turkish postal service’s official website.
