NATO Summit in Ankara as Trump Attacks Alliance
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- NATO leaders gather in Ankara on July 7-8 to address tensions with Trump over Iran and Greenland, with Secretary General Mark Rutte saying allies will showcase tens of billions of dollars in arms deals and renewed defense pledges.
- Rutte announced European members and Canada spent $90 billion more on defense in 2025 than the prior year, reaching a combined total above $570 billion, reaffirming the Hague pledge to hit 3.5% of GDP on core defense by 2035.
- Trump posted on Truth Social on July 2 complaining the US was spending money to protect NATO members "without getting any benefit," threatening to publicly clash with allies again at the summit.
- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will attend a dinner hosted by Turkish President Erdogan, with leaders expected to pledge continued weapons funding for Ukraine's war against Russia's invasion.
- The US has announced troop withdrawals from Europe, cut forces assigned to NATO defense plans — including an aircraft carrier, refueling aircraft, fighter jets, and drones — and launched a six-month review of its continental military presence.
- Trump's unilateral war against Iran, conducted without consulting allies, ruptured personal ties with leaders such as Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and outgoing British PM Keir Starmer and risks overshadowing the Ankara summit if the fragile ceasefire collapses, according to European officials.
- A European diplomat described the 32-member alliance as "alive and kicking but a bit bruised," noting the vast majority of allies nonetheless honored requests to grant the US overflight and basing access for the deeply unpopular Iran conflict.
Why it matters: The Ankara summit tests whether NATO can project unity while the US actively reduces its role: $90 billion in new European defense spending and a reaffirmed 3.5%-of-GDP pledge show allies are adapting, but the aircraft carrier and fighter jet cuts to NATO plans plus Trump's Truth Social broadsides leave the alliance's cohesion visibly strained heading into the gathering.
