After a lavish welcome in Ankara, NATO allies were working carefully to keep US President Donald Trump onside ahead of the summit’s harder talks on Wednesday, as tensions over defense spending, Iran and Ukraine threatened to overshadow the gathering.
Trump arrived in the Turkish capital full of praise for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, highlighting their personal “chemistry” in remarks that contrasted sharply with his continued frustration toward European allies over the war on Iran.
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“I was very disappointed with NATO,” Trump repeated, setting the tone for the alliance’s main session, where leaders are expected to face an unpredictable US president pressing them to spend more, take greater responsibility for Europe’s defense and align more closely with Washington’s priorities.
The summit comes at a fraught moment for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance. Trump has demanded that NATO members follow through on pledges to increase defense spending as Washington takes a step back from Europe, while Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to test the alliance’s military and political resolve.
On the eve of the key session, NATO published figures showing core defense spending by Europe had risen by 11 percent in 2026 and was expected to reach $634 billion, up from $571 billion a year earlier.
AFP reported that allies, keen to avoid a new confrontation with Trump, unveiled tens of billions of dollars in new arms contracts on Tuesday in an effort to show that Europe was making good on its promise to spend more.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte insisted that European allies were “delivering” by increasing military budgets and moving to take more responsibility for the defense of the continent in the face of Russia.
Ukraine returns to the agenda
With NATO trying to keep Trump focused on its surging defense budgets, stalled efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine were also back on the agenda.
Trump said he believed both Moscow and Kyiv wanted to end the fighting, pointing to his recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his expected meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit.
“I think they both want to make a deal,” Trump said.
But the US president also downplayed the direct impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the United States, saying the conflict “doesn’t affect” America in the same way it affects Europe because the US has “an ocean in between.”
For Kyiv, the summit is not only about diplomacy but survival. Zelensky has used his visit to Ankara to press allies for urgent air defense support, especially missiles for Patriot systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
“While this war continues, please help us get more air defense missiles,” Zelensky told a NATO defense forum. “This is our top priority right now.”
Ukraine’s Presidential Office said Zelensky and Rutte discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses against Russian ballistic missiles, including the need for faster delivery of interceptors and stronger pressure on Moscow.
Europe and Canada are expected to pledge continued military support for Ukraine, with reports ahead of the summit pointing to annual assistance of around €70 billion in both 2026 and 2027.
‘No sanctions for friends’
Trump brought welcome news for Erdogan, saying he would roll back sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system and would consider restoring Ankara’s access to the F-35 fighter jet program.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump said at Erdogan’s presidential palace. “We don’t want to sanction friends.”
The move would mark a major shift in US-Turkish relations. Trump said Washington would lift sanctions on Turkey and decide on a possible F-35 sale, despite long-running concerns in Washington over Ankara’s Russian-made S-400 system.
“Turkey has been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal,” Trump added.
Sitting next to him, Erdogan said he was confident Trump would resolve the dispute.
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