Azatutyun. NATO leaders are planning to present deals worth tens of billions of dollars today in Ankara to demonstrate their commitment to increasing defense spending in Europe in response to calls from the United States ahead of the North Atlantic Alliance summit taking place today and tomorrow.
European governments will announce the deals during a conference dedicated to NATO's defense industry, prior to Trump's arrival in Ankara. Meetings are also scheduled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The U.S. president will first meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after which he will join the summit of leaders from member countries of the military alliance in the evening.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the day before that European countries have increased defense spending by an "astonishing" amount, driven not only by a sharp rise in concerns about Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but also by Trump's "extremely decisive" approach on the matter.
"We are now creating an alliance that is sustainable, and where the U.S. knows that it is a fair deal," Stoltenberg told reporters in Ankara.
Trump has continuously accused European countries of being overly dependent on the United States regarding NATO's defense mechanisms. Following the start of the war against Iran, Washington also blamed NATO allies for not providing sufficient support, announcing a reduction of troops stationed in Europe.
In this context, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Reuters yesterday that her country will announce deals and programs worth more than 3 billion euros, including partnerships with Belgium in the field of air defense and with the United Kingdom in the naval sector.
Last week, Reuters sources also reported that the alliance plans to replace the outdated fleet of American-made AWACS long-range reconnaissance aircraft with Swedish Saab's GlobalEye aircraft.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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