Turkey is rolling out sweeping security measures for the upcoming NATO summit, deploying tens of thousands of police and placing air defenses on high alert, while banning public gatherings and imposing controversial restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
On July 7–8, leaders from all 32 member states are expected convene in the Turkish capital, including US President Donald Trump, whose threats to withdraw from NATO and reduce US troop levels have cast uncertainty over the alliance’s future.
Turkey has also unveiled a new VIP airport, converted from a former military airfield, specifically to host NATO leaders.
At the Ankara summit, NATO members are expected to address questions over defense spending and the US’s evolving role in the alliance.
The main agenda will centre on unity after Trump has criticised allies for failing to support the US-led war on Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The important aspect of the meeting is to what extent the rift between the United States and Europe can be healed or narrowed during the summit,” said Fatih Ceylan, a former Turkish ambassador to NATO and security analyst at the Ankara Policy Center. “We should not expect miracles, but nonetheless if there is a convergence of ideas emphasising the importance of NATO, that should be seen as a success.”
Turkey’s role as host seems to have helped win an appearance by Trump, who has a close rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Well, except for the fact that it was being held in Turkey by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone to it,” he told reporters following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.
In the runup to the summit, Erdogan has described Turkey as a reliable ally that consistently shoulders responsibility on NATO’s southeastern flank and would continue to play a leading role in the alliance. He said his country was working to ensure that the Ankara Summit “will stand as a reference point in NATO’s history.”
A NATO member since 1952, Turkey has the alliance’s second-largest army after the United States, a fast-growing defense industry, and occupies a strategic location the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East the Black Sea, and the Caucasus.
Yet it has often acted independently, frustrating allies by refusing to participate in sanctions on Russia, engaging in disputes with Greece, and purchasing Russian missile defense systems — a move that led to its expulsion from the US-led F-35 program in 2019.
Turkey also delayed Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership until it secured concessions on counter-terrorism cooperation and the lifting of arms export restrictions, and blocked the appointments of NATO chiefs Anders Fogh Rassmussen in 2009 and Mark Rutte in 2024 until other demands were met.
