As leaders gather for the high-stakes NATO Summit in Ankara this week, the trans-Atlantic alliance stands at a historic crossroads, confronted by two defining crises: the Russia-Ukraine War and the simmering confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.What critics previously decried as a widening chasm between Washington and Brussels is instead coalescing into a sharp, transaction-based realism, despite some headline-grabbing bickering between President Donald Trump and allied partners. If this summit yields a successful realignment, Trump may find himself uniquely positioned to fulfill both his domestic and international agendas.Trump is expected to use the Ankara Summit to formalize a rigid new division of labor. His message to Europe is clear: If you want the United States to protect you from Russia in the East and maintain our support for the proposed $80 billion package for Ukraine, you must backstop our logistics, secure your own skies from Middle Eastern missiles, and police the waters off your own southern doorstep.
Such a new framework can help Trump secure two major breakthroughs from the summit: first, presenting a definitive ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and second, forging a powerful coalition to “box out” Iran.The trans-Atlantic grand bargain
