NATO leaders gathered in Ankara, Turkiye, on July 7 and 8 for a summit centered on defence spending and alliance unity. The meeting comes as US President Donald Trump renewed calls for member states to increase their military budgets.

European nations are expected to announce billions in new military contracts in response. At last year's NATO summit in The Hague, members agreed to raise their defence spending target to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, with 3.5 percent allocated to military spending and 1.5 percent to security-related needs.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, regional director for Turkiye at the German Marshall Fund, said the focus this year is on implementing these promises and translating increased spending into actual capabilities. However, Paolo von Schirach, president of the Global Policy Institute, cautioned that capability gains from higher spending will take years to materialize, noting, "You can spend a lot and obtain not too much."

Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, highlighted Ukraine's desire for sustained political and military technical support from NATO members to signal to Russia that this backing will continue. He stated the aim is "to show Russia that there will be no diminution in its defensive capacity over the next 12-24 months."

Von Schirach emphasized the summit's political significance, saying, "The main value of this summit is political, it shows that the allies are still talking, still meeting, still trying to project unity, even if the underlying disagreements and doubts haven’t disappeared. Ankara is more about reassurance and signalling than about concrete, immediate changes on the ground."

Leaders from all 32 NATO member states are participating in the summit.

Sources