Türkiye is putting finishing touches on preparations to host NATO’s biggest gathering of the year, with alliance leaders due to arrive in Ankara by Tuesday, for a summit that marks the country’s first turn hosting the bloc’s heads of state and government in more than two decades.
The two-day meeting, running July 7–8 at the Beştepe Presidential Complex, will be the 36th NATO summit overall and only the second ever held in Türkiye, following the 2004 gathering in Istanbul.
The alliance is arriving in Ankara focused on projecting unity while adjusting to Washington’s changing posture toward NATO, and Türkiye is using the moment to reinforce its own standing within the bloc.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has framed the summit around three main priorities; pushing allies to keep raising defense investment, expanding transatlantic defense-industrial production, and continuing support for Ukraine.
Leaders are also expected to grapple with criticism from President Trump and worries among some members about how it might affect the alliance’s cohesion and credibility.
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Rutte has talked about wanting the summit to advance what he calls “NATO 3.0;” a vision of a stronger European pillar within an alliance that leans less on Washington while still keeping the United States firmly involved, according to a Congressional Research Service summary of the agenda.
NATO estimates from earlier this year found that all member states hit the long-standing 2%-of-GDP defense spending target in 2025, up from just three allies back in 2014.
Rutte has pointed to roughly $1.2 trillion in additional defense spending by European allies and Canada over the past decade as evidence of a real shift in posture.
As the host, Türkiye fields NATO’s second-largest army and sits at a strategic crossroads touching the Black Sea, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Caucasus; leverage it has used before, including during protracted negotiations over Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance.
Alongside the leaders’ summit, NATO is also running its Defense Industry Forum in Ankara on July 7, bringing together government and industry officials to discuss ramping up joint weapons production and procurement.
Ukraine’s president is expected to attend the summit as well, underscoring that the war remains high on the agenda even as member states debate how much responsibility Europe should take for sustaining Kyiv’s defense.
