Turkey

Turkey Hosts NATO Summit for First Time in 22 Years

Is Turkey NATO's most indispensable ally or a destabilizing liability the alliance can no longer afford to ignore?

JUL 6·Updated JUL 8

Turkey Hosts NATO Summit for First Time in 22 Years

Story

Above: An illuminated Atakule ahead of the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ankara on July 5. Image credit: Arman Onal/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Facts

Ankara is set to host its first NATO Summit in 22 years this week amid deepening security challenges. On Monday, the eve of the summit, Russia struck Ukraine's Kyiv region with ballistic missiles, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens more.
Taipei Times
Anadolu Agency
Euractiv
The main Ankara summit will feature over 56,200 security personnel and 639 cybersecurity staff while a side program, called Allies in Ankara, organized with the Munich Security Conference and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), will include 45 other events.
Yeni Safak
Caliber.az
Hürriyet Daily News
Turkish police have detained more than 100 people during an anti-NATO protest in Ankara organized by the Communist Party of Turkey ahead of the summit. Authorities banned demonstrations and barricaded large parts of the capital before the July 7-8 meeting.
The Edge Malaysia
Mezha
AnewZ on X
Journalists, activists and academics were among those detained in raids across several Turkish provinces. Turkey's representative for Reporters Without Borders condemned what he called "blind, arbitrary, and haphazard operations" endangering journalists' safety.
The Washington Post
Mezha
Dw.Com
The 36th NATO summit in Ankara is the first since member states committed to raising defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Berlin aims to reach NATO's 3.5% target by 2029, ahead of the agreed timeline.
Taipei Times
China Daily
U.S. President Donald Trump stated he might have skipped the summit were it not hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling him "a friend of mine" and "a hell of a leader." NATO chief Mark Rutte has credited Trump with pressing allies to boost military spending.
Taipei Times
The Washington Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Turkey has become NATO's most indispensable ally, with the second-largest military in the alliance, cutting-edge drone technology and control of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. As the U.S. pulls back from European defense commitments, Ankara's strategic position securing Black Sea shipping lanes and neutralizing sea mines makes it irreplaceable. NATO needs Turkey more than ever.

Dw.Com

Politico

Narrative B

Turkey has become a destabilizing force inside NATO, backing Hamas financially, supporting jihadist factions across Syria and pursuing neo-Ottoman expansionism that threatens regional stability. Hosting the NATO summit in Ankara while Turkey's foreign minister delivers rhetoric that Jerusalem called incitement to genocide exposes how badly the alliance has lost its moral footing. Turkey is a liability NATO can no longer afford to ignore.