Trump lands in Ankara for NATO summit, snubbing Europe and hailing 'strong leader' Erdogan

A controversial host

The annual NATO summit unfolds on 7–8 July at Bestepe, the sprawling 1,000‑room presidential palace that has come to symbolise Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s iron grip. In the run‑up, Turkish authorities ratcheted up security, blocked roads and ordered shops to close. Opposition voices were silenced through detentions and threats. Taxi drivers were told to hand out Turkish delight to visitors as a gesture of hospitality. The heavy‑handed preparation drew criticism from rights groups, but Western capitals largely held their tongues, deeming Turkey’s strategic location too important to jeopardise.

Trump’s Erdogan‑first approach

Donald Trump’s decision to attend the summit was framed as a personal favour. “If this summit had not been held in Turkey, by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone,” he told reporters, adding that he was coming “out of respect for President Erdogan.” The US president celebrated his Turkish counterpart as “a good friend, a strong person, a formidable leader.” The language prompted Turkey’s opposition to caricature Erdogan as an American lackey – a toxic label in a country where anti‑Americanism runs deep. Trump’s aides noted that the visit would be the first by a sitting US president to Turkey in seventeen years. Ahead of the gathering, Washington announced the sale of $700 million in advanced aircraft engines to Ankara, a transaction seen as a step towards lifting the embargo on F‑35 fighters.

If this summit had not been held in Turkey, by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone.

He is a good friend, a strong person, a formidable leader.

Turkey’s defence industry on display

The summit’s opening day featured a defence‑industry forum drawing 3,500 Turkish firms. Erdogan used the occasion to spotlight an export sector that grew 48% in 2025 and a further 29% in the first half of 2026. Over five years, the country’s global share of defence exports doubled to 1.8%, placing it 11th worldwide. “What we used to do in a year, we now do in a week,” Erdogan said, citing recent deliveries of drones, tanks, armoured vehicles and a warship sold to Romania. A defence‑industry support fund, supported by public and private contributions, reached €7 billion last year. The government is pushing to be recognised as a strategic partner for joint production and technology sharing, while also lobbying to join the EU’s €150‑billion SAFE programme, from which it remains excluded.

What we used to do in a year, we now do in a week.

A balancing act geopolitically

Turkey’s second‑largest army in NATO, counting 355,000 active personnel and 378,000 reservists, controls the Bosphorus and Dardanelles – chokepoints vital to containing Russia in the Black Sea. The war in Ukraine, the conflict with Iran and the partial US military pullback from Europe have converged to make Ankara indispensable to Western security calculations. Turkish diplomats point out that last year’s Hague summit unanimously approved the Ankara venue, with no objections from Emmanuel Macron or Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, despite historically frayed ties.

Cracks in the alliance

European leaders privately lament the democratic backsliding under Erdogan, but geopolitical imperatives have forced them into an accommodating posture. Trump’s open contempt for allies – whom he accuses of shortchanging defence spending and of refusing to join the US‑led campaign against Iran – hangs over the proceedings. The Turkish government is exploiting the rift, pushing NATO to abandon remaining restrictions and to grant Ankara full access to European defence‑industrial cooperation. However, lingering doubts over Turkey’s reliability, fuelled by past coziness with Moscow, continue to temper the enthusiasm of some Western capitals.

Turkey has been kept out of major European programmes and projects and wants to change that. It will use the summit to showcase its capabilities.