NATO Leaders Meet in Ankara as Trump Presses Allies on Defence Spending

The summit comes at a time of growing debate over burden-sharing within the alliance, following Trump's repeated calls for European members to shoulder a greater share of collective defence responsibilities. Alliance unity is expected to be one of the meeting's central themes.

Mark Rutte is expected to unveil record increases in European and Canadian defence investment while urging allies to present concrete plans to meet NATO's target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035, a commitment first agreed at last year's summit in The Hague. Rutte's pre-summit remarks outline the alliance's focus on accelerating military capabilities and industrial production.

The summit is also expected to strengthen cooperation between governments and the defence industry through the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum, where new procurement agreements, joint manufacturing initiatives and investment plans are expected to be announced.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is attending the gathering as Ukraine seeks additional military support, including expanded cooperation on Patriot air defence systems following intensified Russian missile attacks. Support for Ukraine remains one of the alliance's top priorities.

Despite ongoing disagreements over issues including Iran, Greenland and the future U.S. military presence in Europe, NATO leaders are expected to use the Ankara summit to reaffirm the alliance's commitment to collective defence while outlining a roadmap for meeting evolving security challenges across the Euro-Atlantic region.