President Donald Trump left Monday evening for Ankara, Turkey, to attend a NATO meeting on July 7–8, 2026. It is his first visit to the country as president since 2015, according to NPR.

Trump has one main goal: he wants countries in NATO to spend more money on their armies. Specifically, he is pushing each country to spend 5% of its total economic output on defense and to say when they will get there. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker told reporters that Trump expects countries to move toward this spending level "with urgency." NATO's leader Mark Rutte is asking countries to bring detailed plans to the meeting. The summit is being held at Turkey's presidential compound, and will include a special meeting about defense industry cooperation on July 7.

Defense Spending: What Matters Most

The 5% spending target is Trump's signature demand. At a recent White House meeting, Rutte showed charts labeled "The Trump Trillion" to show how much allied countries have increased their defense budgets since 2017. One defense expert called the Ankara meeting the "first report card" after a 2025 meeting in The Hague set this 5% goal. Now countries will be measured against that target over the next ten years.

According to Reuters, the meeting draft also reaffirms NATO's central promise: if one country is attacked, all countries will help defend it. This matters because Trump has questioned in the past whether NATO countries would actually follow through on this promise. He has also criticized NATO members for not helping the U.S. enough in conflicts like the recent war with Iran. A Congressional Research Service report from July 2 listed the big questions heading into this meeting: how countries will meet spending goals, how the financial burden will be shared fairly, and how countries will work together on defense manufacturing.

Ukraine, Russia, and Side Meetings

The war in Ukraine — going on for five years now — is the other big issue at this summit. Trump spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's President Vladimir Putin on July 4. He plans to meet with Zelenskyy in person on Wednesday during the summit. European leaders are also hoping to smooth over disagreements with the U.S. over Iran and other issues, according to Reuters. These tensions came up at a meeting of major world powers in France in June.

Beyond the planned meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump has few scheduled one-on-one talks. He will meet privately with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. That is it. The short list shows that this summit is focused and compact, with the U.S. putting its energy into three things: the war in Ukraine and Russia, the relationship with Iran, and getting countries to spend more on defense.

Background

Turkey asked to host this summit back in April 2026 to "reset" relations with Trump, according to Reuters. The country has made a visible investment in hosting — signs promoting the summit went up across Ankara by early July. For Turkey's President Erdoğan, hosting the meeting, sitting down with Trump privately, and bringing together all 32 NATO members plus other allied countries gives Turkey a more central role.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in early June that Trump would attend even though Trump has made clear he is frustrated with NATO. How much Trump voices those frustrations at the summit — or whether he focuses instead on the good news about increased spending — will shape what the meeting produces on July 8.