NATO leaders plan to unveil arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Tuesday to show they are heeding U.S. calls to spend more to defend Europe before joining President Donald Trump for a summit.
European governments will announce the deals at a NATO defence industry forum before Trump flies in to meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and join fellow leaders of the military alliance for the summit, which begins with a dinner on Tuesday evening.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday Europeans had made “staggering” increases in defence spending in part due to fears of Russia, which have surged since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but also because Trump had been “extremely forceful” in encouraging them to do so.
Trump has long accused European governments of over-relying on the U.S. to defend them through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has protected the continent since the early years of the Cold War.
“We are now creating an alliance which is sustainable, where the U.S. knows it is a fair deal,” Rutte told reporters in Ankara on the eve of the summit.
Rutte said last month that NATO’s European members and Canada spent $90 billion more on defence in real terms in 2025 than in 2024, to reach a total of more than $570 billion — an increase of around 20% in a single year.
In a major potential shift, Trump is also expected to tell Erdogan that he is prepared to allow the country to rejoin the F-35 stealth fighter programme, sources told Reuters, an issue that has long been a sore point in bilateral ties.
Washington had imposed sanctions and removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet programme after Turkey’s 2019 acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defence system.
IRAN WAR PROMPTED TRUMP TO REVIVE CRITICISM OF NATO
Trump has renewed harsh criticism of fellow NATO members in recent months, accusing them of failing to do enough to help the U.S. in its war with Iran and suggesting he could quit the alliance or disregard its mutual defence pact.
European officials insist they largely honoured commitments to let the U.S. use their airspace and bases in their countries, despite not having been consulted about a war that roiled their economies and was deeply unpopular in Europe.
The U.S. has also announced troop withdrawals from Europe, cut the forces it assigns to NATO’s defence plans – including an aircraft carrier, refuelling aircraft, fighter jets and drones — and launched a six-month review of its military presence on the continent.
European officials say they are braced for a repeat of some of Trump’s recent criticism at the summit but hope Erdogan and Rutte will use their close relationships with the U.S. president to keep the summit on an even keel.
But they say they cannot be sure of a positive outcome, given lingering tensions over Greenland and Iran, and Trump’s volatile relationship with some leaders, most recently seen in a feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
NATO members are expected to reaffirm support for Ukraine and pledge assistance of €70 billion ($79.98 billion) for this year alone. Underscoring the stakes, Russia hammered Kyiv and the surrounding region with missiles and drones on Monday, killing at least 28 people and exposing Ukraine’s critical shortage of U.S.-made air-defence interceptors.
DEFENCE DEALS UNDER WRAPS
Details of the arms deals to be announced on Tuesday have been kept under wraps in an effort by NATO to make a PR splash ahead of the summit.
But Dutch Defence Minister Dilan Yesilgoz told Reuters on Monday her country would announce deals and plans worth more than €3 billion, including partnerships with Belgium on air defence and Britain on naval ships.
NATO also plans to announce it will replace its ageing fleet of U.S.-built AWACS surveillance aircraft with a Swedish alternative, Saab’s GlobalEye, four sources told Reuters last week.
Canada on Monday announced it had selected Germany’s TKMS to build up to 12 submarines for its navy, preferring it over a rival bid from non-NATO member South Korea.
-Reuters
