Trump told Erdogan he is attending Nato's Ankara summit 'just for him'
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Ragip Soylu
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Thu, 06/18/2026 - 12:04
Sources say Erdogan’s role as host helped persuade Trump to attend as tensions grow between Washington and European allies
US President Donald Trump greets Recep Tayyip Erdogan outside the West Wing as he arrives at the White House on 25 September 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)
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US President Donald Trump told his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last month that he would attend the forthcoming Nato summit in Ankara just to please the Turkish leader, according to several sources familiar with the phone call who spoke to Middle East Eye.
Tensions between the US and its European allies have been steadily rising, and the July summit is seen as a potential breaking point, where both sides are expected to reveal their positions and attempt to chart a path forward together.
“Many European countries say that the fact that the meeting will be held in Turkey, hosted by our president, is the most important factor that made President Trump’s participation in the summit possible,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters on Thursday.
“If our president hadn’t been there, if Turkey hadn’t been there, Trump wouldn’t have come, and he would have effectively declared that he didn’t attach importance to it.”
Fidan said both European and US perspectives would be discussed during the summit, adding that the issues could not be resolved if the US president did not attend the meetings.
Hegseth warning over US troops in Europe
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday warned Nato allies that the US would review its military presence on the continent over the next six months and would cut its contributions to the alliance’s budget if European countries failed to increase military spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product.
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“Make no mistake about it, this will be a real review,” Hegseth said at the Nato defence ministers’ summit in Brussels.
So far, Turkey has remained largely immune to US anger over military spending, as Erdogan has delivered on several issues important to Trump, from last year’s Gaza ceasefire to Ankara’s recent supportive role in the Iran memorandum of understanding, which Trump personally praised.
In 2024, Turkey already passed Nato's 2 percent defence spending target, reaching 2.3 percent of GDP.
The Turkish defence ministry said on Thursday that Ankara’s military plans are focused on reaching the 5 percent objective. Nato requires member states to meet that target by 2035.
Nato allies have ramped up their contribution to Turkey's defence ahead of Ankara summit. US and Germany in May deployed a Patriots air defence system to southern Turkey.
On Thursday, Turkey's defence ministry said that, as part of the Nato Standing Defence Plan and to strengthen the alliance's air defences, one Italian SAMP/T Air Defence System has been deployed today at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in the city of Konya.
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