Donald Trump met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Ankara airport on 7 July for a NATO summit—the alliance's first major gathering since Trump authorized military strikes on Iran earlier this year BBC. NATO is a military alliance of 30+ countries formed after World War II to defend each other. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte used the summit to check on whether member countries were meeting their promises to spend more on defense NATO.

Trump told reporters he came to Ankara because Erdogan invited him as a friend BBC. He then repeated his claim that the United States should take control of Greenland, a territory that belongs to Denmark, a NATO member. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said if America tried to seize Greenland by force, it would destroy NATO. This dispute had surfaced before but resurfaced now, during a summit meant to show that NATO members stand together.

This tension built on earlier friction from Trump's Iran military action. Trump ordered strikes on Iran in early 2026 without asking any NATO allies for permission, and no ally joined the operation BBC. Trump then publicly criticized the United Kingdom, even though British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had allowed the US to launch attacks from British military bases—a form of support that Trump's comments seemed to ignore. For Starmer, this summit was his last as prime minister, ending a term defined by the difficult choice to back US military action against Iran.

Starmer's final summit also happened during a problem at home: Britain's defense budget fell billions of pounds short of what the country itself had promised to spend, according to the BBC. This gap weakens Britain's position as Rutte keeps asking allies to actually buy weapons instead of just saying they will spend money. When Rutte met Trump in Washington on 25 June, he said "Europe is stepping up" on defence spending NATO. Britain's budget shortfall raises questions that will matter long after this week.

New weapons and contracts

NATO announced tens of billions of dollars in new military contracts at the summit on 7 July NATO. Rutte told defense officials and company leaders that "There is no strong defence without a strong defence industry" NATO. The forum brought together senior officials from NATO countries and allies with military companies to discuss building more weapons and defense technology NATO.

NATO ordered new transport aircraft built by Airbus and agreed to replace its old radar planes with a newer system from Sweden called GlobeEye BBC. NATO's old radar planes have barely changed since the 1980s, so this upgrade was needed no matter what else was happening at the summit.

The summit also invited defense leaders from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea to attend NATO. NATO was originally created to defend North America and Europe, but it increasingly works with countries in the Asia-Pacific region that share similar values.

Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland announced they are working on a new defense partnership that they hope to launch by 2027 Reuters. European leaders had already met in Berlin on 24 June to discuss working more closely on defense, framing it as a way to reduce tensions with Trump Reuters. Reports noted that European countries came to Ankara hoping to convince Trump that Europe is taking on more responsibility for its own military protection Reuters.

While Trump's comments about Greenland grabbed headlines, the real action at the summit was weapons contracts and new defense partnerships. The planes, radar systems, and European defense plans announced in Ankara will shape military strength for years to come. The question now is whether Europe can build its own defense capacity fast enough to reduce dependence on an unpredictable American president.