U.S. President Donald Trump has arrived in Ankara, Turkey, to attend a two-day NATO leaders’ summit, marking the first visit by a sitting American president to the country since 2015. Hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex, the summit brings together leaders from NATO’s 32 member states and key partners to evaluate progress on defense spending commitments established last year in The Hague. The visit underscores a significant diplomatic moment, with President Trump noting his attendance is a gesture of respect for the Turkish host.
The meeting represents a notable shift in U.S.-Turkey relations, which experienced severe strain during Trump’s first term over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson and subsequent U.S. steel tariffs that triggered a Turkish currency crisis. Following Brunson’s release in late 2018 and subsequent diplomatic maneuvers, relations have steadily rehabilitated. This reconciliation was highlighted by a renewed personal rapport between the two leaders, culminating in President Erdogan’s visit to the White House in September 2025, their first bilateral meeting there in six years.
A central point of contention remains Turkey’s 2019 acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which prompted U.S. sanctions under CAATSA and Turkey’s removal from the joint F-35 fighter jet program. Trump has historically defended Erdogan on the matter, attributing the dispute to the Obama administration’s refusal to sell American Patriot missiles to Ankara. Recently, the Trump administration has signaled a potential willingness to ease these defense sanctions and discuss reinstating Turkey into the F-35 program, though no official policy shifts have been confirmed at the summit.
Beyond bilateral defense issues, the summit coincides with increased geopolitical alignment between Washington and Ankara in the Middle East following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024. With Turkey hosting approximately three million Syrian refugees, both nations are coordinating stabilization efforts through U.S. Special Envoy Tom Barrack. On the sidelines of the summit, President Trump is scheduled to hold critical bilateral talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before returning to Washington.
