NATO Ankara summit: who's going and what to expect

On 6 July 2026, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey took centre stage as host. The White House said Trump would meet Zelensky at the summit after a call with Putin, and Trump was also to meet Erdogan, praising their “alchemy.” Romanian president Nicușor Dan was to attend, and Bulgaria’s Radev met Erdogan in Ankara.

The EU and NATO chiefs called for stronger European defence on the eve of the summit, and European states told Trump, “We deliver.” Corriere della Sera wrote about the allies’ race toward the 5% spending target, and Euronews wrote that record European military spending buys American dependence.