NATO leaders are gathering in Ankara on July 7-8 for what’s shaping up to be the alliance’s most consequential summit in years. Billions of dollars in new arms contracts are expected to be announced before US President Donald Trump even sits down at the table, a move designed to demonstrate that European allies are finally putting serious money where their Article 5 commitments are.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host all 32 member nations at the Presidential Complex. It’s only the second time Turkey has hosted a NATO summit since 2004, when Istanbul got the nod.
What’s actually on the table
NATO members originally committed to hitting 3.5% of GDP toward defense spending by 2035. Recent discussions have floated bumping the figure to 5% in some quarters.
Trump has made burden-sharing his signature NATO grievance since his first term, and the Ankara summit appears designed to preempt that criticism with hard commitments. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to present what the alliance is calling “NATO 3.0,” a framework focused on enhancing European defense contributions while reaffirming the collective defense pledge under Article 5.
