President Donald Trump has touched down in Ankara, Turkey, for a NATO summit, a gathering that has been marked by the announcement of several billion-dollar arms deals.
On Tuesday, Trump was greeted by his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on landing, before attending an official leaders’ dinner and the main session of the summit.
The two-day summit in Ankara is expected to see allies pledge a largely symbolic €70 billion ($80.06 billion) in military aid to Ukraine over this year and next, largely formalizing existing commitments despite Ukraine having no current path to joining NATO.
NATO Unveils Major Arms Deals
On Monday, NATO leaders disclosed arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Turkey. This move is perceived as a response to U.S. calls for increased defense spending in Europe. At a defense industry forum in Ankara, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced several initiatives and called for a “revolution” in the defense industry, pointing to the massive military spending of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
