Trump presses NATO allies as Ankara summit opens

President Donald Trump arrived at NATO’s summit in Ankara pressing allies to spend more on defense, testing the alliance’s unity as leaders from all 32 member states gathered in Turkey for two days of talks.

Days before the meeting, Trump renewed a familiar complaint. “The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing,” he posted on social media on July 2. “Ridiculous!”

The summit is expected to focus on defense spending, military supply chains, support for Ukraine and efforts to define a more European role inside the alliance. At last year’s summit in The Hague, NATO members agreed to raise their defense spending target to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035, including 3.5% for military spending and 1.5% for security-related needs. The previous benchmark was 2%.

“President Trump fully expects that all allies will step up immediately and get on the path to 5% and do it with urgency,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker told reporters Sunday. Whitaker said Washington’s goal is “shifting the burden of the conventional defense of Europe to our European allies and Canada.” The United States currently spends roughly 3% of GDP on defense, CBS News reported.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has framed the meeting as a chance to show progress. “In Ankara we are going to show the world that we are delivering on the commitment we made in the Hague last year,” he said in a recent Washington speech, adding that the alliance would “breathe life into the concept known as NATO 3.0 — a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO.”

Analysts said the summit may be more about keeping the alliance together than producing major new decisions. Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told NPR there is “a lot of smoke and mirrors” aimed at keeping Trump engaged. “This is an effort to get through the summer summit period without the Transatlantic Alliance fracturing and breaking apart,” he said.

European countries are expected to announce billions of dollars in military contracts, Al Jazeera reported. Ozgur Unluhisarcikli of the German Marshall Fund said the Ankara talks would focus on turning higher spending into military capabilities. Paolo von Schirach of the Global Policy Institute cautioned that those gains would take time: “You can spend a lot and obtain not too much.”

The U.S. is also reducing parts of its military footprint in Europe. CBS News reported that the Pentagon has announced plans to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany and reduce fighter jets, tanks and other equipment. Al Jazeera reported that Washington has announced a phased withdrawal of warplanes, destroyers and submarines from NATO countries.

Ukraine will also be central to the summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is not a NATO member, is expected to meet Trump on Wednesday and request additional Patriot air defense systems as Russian attacks intensify. Al Jazeera reported that a drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 11 people Monday morning.

Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute said Ukraine wants continuing political and military technical support to show Russia “that this support will be sustained.” He added: “There is a direct correlation between the number of interceptors supplied to Ukraine and the damage that Russia can inflict with ballistic missiles.”

The summit’s host country adds another layer to the diplomacy. Trump has said he might not have attended if the meeting were not hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey has NATO’s second-largest army, a growing defense industry and complex ties with Russia. Analysts said Trump’s relationship with Erdogan could help ease some tensions inside the alliance.

Other issues are also expected to shadow the talks, including Trump’s continued interest in acquiring Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory within NATO member Denmark, and European unease over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. Trump has said of European allies, “I just want their loyalty.”