NATO Ankara Summit: Iran War and Ukraine Dominate the Agenda

NATO leaders convened in Ankara, Turkey on July 7–8, 2026 for the 36th NATO summit — the second ever hosted by Turkey and the first since the 2004 Istanbul summit. The gathering, held at the Presidential Complex, was overshadowed by the renewed US-Iran military confrontation and sharp disagreements between President Donald Trump and his European allies.

Defense Spending: Historic Progress

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte highlighted unprecedented progress on defense investment. Five member states — a record — are now projected to meet the alliance's stringent 3.5% of GDP target for core defense spending in 2026. The announcement came alongside a landmark $4.5 billion agreement to purchase up to 10 Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, replacing the aging Boeing E-3 AWACS early warning planes that have been the backbone of NATO's airborne detection capabilities for decades.

Britain, France, and Germany went further, jointly pledging more than $50 billion in long-range weapons investment — a commitment described as the largest coordinated European defense pledge in NATO history.

Trump vs. Allies: Iran and Greenland

President Trump arrived in Ankara visibly frustrated with European partners. He criticized allies for not providing more active support for US operations against Iran — dubbed Operation Epic Fury — and renewed demands that NATO members transfer control of Greenland to the United States. European capitals have repeatedly rejected both demands.

The US president also threatened to withdraw American troops from Europe, a move that Norway and Poland publicly dismissed, saying they were confident the US would honor its security commitments. Trump's stance softened somewhat after the NATO chief praised the US Iran strikes as "absolutely necessary."

Ukraine: Air Defense at the Top

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Trump on the sidelines and pressed NATO allies for additional air defense systems, calling this "one of the key outcomes" his country needed from the summit. Zelensky warned that Russia had launched intense strikes in the lead-up to the gathering, killing dozens of civilians in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Rutte outlined three core priorities for the summit: boosting allied defense investment, strengthening transatlantic defense industrial production, and continued support for Ukraine's resistance.

AWACS Replacement and the Saab Deal

One of the summit's major concrete outcomes was the agreement to modernize NATO's airborne early warning fleet. The 10 Saab GlobalEye aircraft — based on the Bombardier Global 6000 platform — will provide next-generation radar, surveillance, and command-and-control capabilities across the alliance. The deal represents a significant shift away from US-made Boeing systems toward a NATO-financed multinational procurement.