Trump Woos Erdogan and Berates Allies as Summit Opens
President Trump opened NATO’s Ankara summit by promising to lift the sanctions blocking Turkey’s return to the F-35 programme, praising his “chemistry” with President Erdogan — “Türkiye has become very strong under President Erdogan’s leadership” — while saying he had been “very disappointed” by allies during the Iran war. European members unveiled billions in arms contracts to prove last year’s spending pledges are real; Germany’s Chancellor Merz answered Trump’s “ridiculous” jibe: “this is the greatest effort we have ever made to strengthen our defence capabilities.”
The F-35 reversal would end a seven-year rupture dating to Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defences, and it prices Erdogan’s new position precisely: host, Iran-truce broker and Trump favourite, collecting dividends while his opposition sits in courtrooms across town. The harder currency is being counted underneath the ceremony — a US withdrawal of warplanes, destroyers and submarines from Europe is under way, and the arms announcements are Europe’s answer to a patron “not going away, just doing less”. On Ukraine, Trump offered only that “both Ukraine and Russia want to make a deal”. Watch tomorrow’s working session, the Zelensky and Sharaa bilaterals, and the communiqué’s spending language.