Trump Arrives in Turkey for NATO Summit Focused on Ukraine, Spending

Trump arrives in Turkey for a NATO summit centered on Ukraine, defense spending, and alliance friction. U.S. President Donald Trump landed at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara on Tuesday and met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Turkish presidential compound after an arrival ceremony. Trump said he was “very disappointed” with NATO and indicated he might not have attended unless the summit were held in Turkey, while praising Erdogan as having “very special” relations and good personal “chemistry.” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte briefed initiatives spanning drones, anti-drone systems, surveillance aircraft, refueling planes, and joint production, including European purchases from Northrop Grumman, orders by Sweden’s Saab, and a preliminary Lockheed Martin–Rheinmetall ATACMS production plan in Germany. Rutte also cited more than $40 billion in anti-drone investments over five years. The summit follows Russia’s missile and drone strike on Kyiv and surrounding areas the day before, renewing attention on Ukraine air-defense requests ahead of a Wednesday meeting between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.