Canada’s PM arrives in Ankara
Ahead of the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ankara, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived at Ankara Airport with his wife, Diana Fox Carney, News.Az reports.
** 11:50
Türkiye urges NATO's European allies to assume greater responsibility
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler on Tuesday urged NATO's European allies to assume greater responsibility
"At such a critical time, European allies must assume greater responsibility. However, this cannot be achieved merely by announcing higher budget figures," he stated.
** 11:28
Estonia says NATO's Ankara gathering set to be 'summit of delivery'
NATO leaders will gather in the Turkish capital Ankara this week for a pivotal summit focused on strengthening allied cohesion and transforming political pledges on defense spending and military capability development into measurable action, Estonia's Defense Ministry said, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.
The meeting is widely expected to be framed as a potential "summit of delivery," with a central focus on ensuring that allies meet agreed defense spending benchmarks and NATO capability targets.
The discussions come as member states seek to demonstrate that increased European and Canadian contributions are translating into real military capacity, industrial output and deterrence.
In comments to Anadolu, Estonia's Defense Ministry said the Ankara meeting should send a clear signal that previously agreed commitments must now be fully implemented to reinforce NATO's deterrence and defense posture.
"The Ankara Summit should demonstrate that allies are delivering on the agreed defense spending commitment and their NATO capability targets, making it a 'summit of delivery' that strengthens NATO's deterrence and defense," it said.
"We also expect strong allied commitments regarding long-term support for Ukraine," it said, adding that Estonia continues to contribute 0.25% of its GDP annually to Ukraine's military assistance.
Reiterating its support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, Estonia said that Ukraine is increasingly a "major contributor to European security" and that its "rightful place is in NATO."
** 10:52
Turkish FM says Ankara summit will help shape NATO's future
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday that the NATO summit in Ankara will help shape the alliance's future and adapt its structures to an increasingly complex security environment, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
Fidan, in a post on X just as the two-day summit gets underway, Fidan said Türkiye is prepared to host NATO allies under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The stage is set in Ankara. Under President Erdogan's leadership, Türkiye stands ready to welcome NATO members at a moment that will define the Alliance's future," Fidan said.
He stressed that decisions taken at the summit "will not merely address immediate challenges" but "will shape the Euro-Atlantic security environment for the years ahead."
Fidan said collective defense remains NATO's core mission, but argued that the strategic environment is changing as threats become "multi-domain, faster, and more complex."
"Traditional metrics no longer capture this reality. What matters now is output: deployable capability, industrial capacity, and operational readiness," he said.
The minister added that a stronger European contribution to NATO is essential but restrictions on defense-industrial cooperation undermine efficiency and slow response.
"These constraints have become strategic liabilities. European defense initiatives must remain fully inclusive of all NATO Allies," he said.
Fidan further noted that the alliance must also reconsider how it organizes cooperation. "The real issue is not only how we respond, but how we organize cooperation in a way that reflects today's realities. The Ankara Summit will guide the Alliance in aligning its structures with the world it faces," he said.
"Türkiye's objective is clear: a more coherent, more capable, and more resilient Alliance," Fidan added.
** 10:48
Zelensky to press NATO for air defence systems after intense Russian strikes
Ukraine's president plans to use the NATO meeting in Ankara to urge Kyiv's allies to deliver the air defence systems it urgently needs to protect it from escalating Russian attacks, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Volodymyr Zelensky's call for help rings with extra intensity after Russian missiles rained down on the Ukrainian capital twice in less than a week, crashing into blocks of flats and killing more than 50 civilians.
The summit in Ankara will also be a chance for Zelensky to hold a crucial meeting with Donald Trump and press home his case that Russia's "brutal" attacks are a show of weakness, not strength, and that Vladimir Putin should be pressured into talks towards a "dignified" peace.
The latest strikes on Ukraine come as it has been stepping up its own long-range drone attacks against Russia, hitting oil refineries and military targets there and causing significant fuel shortages and power cuts.
** 10:04
What’s on the table at Ankara summit?
NATO leaders will gather in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday for a summit expected to test the alliance's ability to turn ambitious pledges into concrete action, against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and renewed debate over transatlantic burden-sharing.
Defense spending, long-term support for Ukraine and efforts to strengthen defense industrial capacity are expected to dominate the two-day meeting, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
Türkiye, hosting its second NATO summit after Istanbul in 2004, is presenting the gathering as a showcase for its growing defense industry.
Defense spending: From promises to delivery
Defense spending is expected to top the agenda in Ankara as allies face mounting pressure to turn last year's headline commitment into concrete military capabilities.
At the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, the leaders agreed on a new target of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually by 2035 for defense and security-related spending, replacing the alliance's long-standing benchmark of 2%.
Under the plan, at least 3.5% would go toward core military spending – such as troops, weapons and operations – while up to 1.5% could be invested in broader security priorities including cyber defense, military mobility, critical infrastructure and defense industries.
Allies also pledged to submit annual national implementation plans, with progress to be reviewed in 2029.
The issue remains politically sensitive because many European governments face difficult budget choices, while Washington has long argued that the US shoulders a disproportionate share of NATO's military burden.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused European allies of relying too heavily on US protection and has renewed those criticisms ahead of the Ankara summit, calling the current imbalance "ridiculous" and insisting Europe take greater responsibility for its own defense.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has framed the debate less as a question of accounting than of military readiness, arguing that the alliance now needs to convert higher budgets into deployable forces, ammunition, air defenses and industrial production.
Ahead of the summit, he said NATO would announce tens of billions of dollars in new defense contracts, describing the effort as the beginning of a "defense industrial revolution."
The spending debate is also frequently misunderstood.
The 5% target refers to each country's own national defense and security expenditure as a share of its GDP – not contributions to NATO's common budget.
NATO's shared civilian budget, military budget and Security Investment Program together amount to only a small fraction of what allies spend individually on their armed forces.
All NATO allies now exceed the old 2% benchmark. Progress has accelerated since Russia's war in Ukraine in 2022.
Poland is expected to remain NATO's biggest defense spender relative to the size of its economy, while the Baltic states have sharply increased military budgets in response to security concerns.
Germany has also announced plans to reach NATO's 3.5% core defense spending target by 2029, six years ahead of schedule, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz describing the buildup as an unprecedented investment in European security.
One notable point of friction remains Spain. Madrid secured flexibility at last year's Hague summit, arguing it could meet NATO capability targets while spending significantly less than 5% of GDP, a position that drew public criticism from Trump.
Sustaining support for Ukraine
Ukraine is expected to remain one of the summit's defining issues as allies seek to demonstrate that support for Kyiv remains intact more than four years after Russia's war.
Although Ukraine is not a NATO member, the alliance maintains close ties with Kyiv through mechanisms such as the NATO-Ukraine Council and the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) mission, which coordinates military aid and training.
Since the outbreak of the war in 2022, allies have provided the overwhelming majority of Ukraine's military assistance.
Host country Türkiye has also positioned itself as an active supporter of Kyiv within the alliance, supplying Ukraine with Bayraktar TB2 drones and hosting earlier rounds of Russia-Ukraine peace talks while keeping diplomatic channels open with Moscow.
Last year, NATO and the US launched the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism allowing allies to jointly finance US-made military equipment identified by Kyiv as an operational priority, including air defense systems.
In Ankara, leaders are expected to review progress on weapons deliveries, air defense, ammunition supplies and defense-industrial cooperation with Ukraine.
But the issue has also been shaped by shifting signals from Washington.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that European allies should assume greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine and for Europe's security more broadly, while signaling impatience with open-ended US support.
In April, Trump said he was reconsidering US membership in NATO after accusing European allies of failing to support the US in its war on Iran.
He has since met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, with both sides emphasizing continued cooperation, although the episode renewed European concerns about the durability of US support for Kyiv.
Rutte has argued that helping Ukraine defend itself is inseparable from NATO's own security, stressing that US contributions such as Patriot air defense systems remain indispensable while urging European allies to step up their own support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to take part in summit events, including a joint appearance with Rutte and a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
Following a phone call with Trump on Saturday, Zelenskyy said they discussed battlefield developments, air defense and diplomatic efforts to end the war, expressing hope they would continue those discussions in Ankara.
Expanding defense industrial capacity
Beyond increasing defense budgets, leaders are expected to focus on how to translate new spending commitments into faster weapons production and stronger military capabilities.
The issue has gained urgency as Russia's war in Ukraine exposed shortages of ammunition, air defense systems and other critical equipment, while highlighting the need for allies to replenish their own stockpiles.
NATO officials have repeatedly warned that production capacity has not kept pace with growing demand, despite sharp increases in defense spending across Europe and North America.
Rutte has pointed to fragmented European defense industries, slow procurement bureaucracies and production timelines that lag behind battlefield demand.
A full day on July 7 is set aside for the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum (NSDIF26), which NATO describes as its premier event on transatlantic defense production, investment and innovation.
The event will bring together senior NATO officials, defense ministers, military commanders and executives from leading defense companies to accelerate cooperation between governments and the industry.
The forum is also expected to feature announcements on new defense contracts and multinational procurement projects.
As host, Türkiye is expected to use the gathering to showcase its expanding defense industry and press for deeper integration into European and NATO defense initiatives.
As part of the forum, the Presidency of Defense Industries will host a high-level reception at Turkish Aerospace Industries facilities in Kahramankazan, where Turkish defense products will be exhibited and indigenous air platforms will perform demonstration flights.
** 09:28
The 2026 NATO Summit gets underway in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, bringing together leaders from member states and partner countries for two days of high-level discussions, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
US President Donald Trump departed the White House late Monday for Ankara, Türkiye, where he is set to attend the NATO summit and hold a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to the White House pool report, the presidential motorcade left the White House at 9:03 p.m. local time (0103 GMT Tuesday) en route to Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, Maryland. Air Force One departed at 9:41 p.m. local time (0141 GMT), carrying Trump to Türkiye for the alliance's annual summit.
