At times during the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, it was difficult to know where to look and what to listen to.
US President Donald Trump spoke several times amid the chaos. He was often chaos. He called Iran “scum” and “liars.” The ceasefire agreement reached between Washington and Tehran in mid-June is now “finished,” he said.
But a host of other major geopolitical developments were agreed upon, including increases in defense spending by European countries by tens of billions of dollars and a major victory in Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.
Here are the main findings.
The US is not leaving NATO
Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the US out of NATO, saying other countries (especially European allies) are taking advantage of his country.
Among his main complaints is that many NATO countries do not spend enough on defense. At last year’s summit, NATO countries pledged to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense by 2035.
Most of the bloc’s 32 member countries will need to inject significant cash into the sector to achieve this goal (Spain and Canada spend about 2 percent of GDP on defense right now).
But in the official declaration of the 2026 Ankara summit, NATO countries reaffirmed their “iron commitment to our collective defense” (a reference to Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all).
In other words, the US is not going anywhere, despite Trump’s threats.
Ankara’s statement showed European allies and Canada would spend another $50 billion ($72.3 billion) “on new procurement.”
A worker puts the finishing touches on a flag display ahead of Donald Trump’s speech at NATO. (Reuters: Stoyan Nenov)
Ukraine will be allowed to produce Patriot missiles
It’s a big deal, although in typical Trump fashion, the details have been vague. Patriot missiles (there are more than one type) are surface-to-air systems used to intercept incoming air attacks. They are expensive to produce (each rocket costs millions of US dollars).
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has constantly complained that there are not enough of them in his country. Patriot PAC-3 interceptors are very effective in neutralizing ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine.
During a joint news conference with Zelensky in Ankara on Wednesday local time, Trump said a “little bird” told him Ukraine would soon receive a license to make missiles.
“We’re going to license you to make Patriots. This is very cool. That way you can’t complain that we don’t give them enough.”
Mr. Trump said.
He also said that the company that makes the Patriots (in the case of the PAC-3 system, defense giant Lockheed Martin) was not yet aware of this development.
“But everything will work out. I’m sure they’ll be delighted,” he said.
Iran is “scum” and will never have nuclear weapons
The resumption of hostilities between Iran and the United States has become a serious threat to the summit in Ankara.
Trump was asked several times on Wednesday whether the ceasefire between the two countries had ended (they signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding last month that was supposed to pave the way for peace).
“It’s a very interesting question. I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” the US president said of the Iranian regime during his first news conference of the day.
“They’re scum. They are sick people. They are led by sick people.”
At the time the deal was agreed, analysts warned that it left the most contentious issues unresolved.
Later on Wednesday, Trump hinted that the US military would likely launch a “hard” strike on targets in Iran on Wednesday evening.
He has repeatedly said that Iran “can never have nuclear weapons.”
Journalists await the start of a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Threats to Greenland return
Trump also caused a stir when he reiterated his position that Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, should be controlled by the United States.
He said the US needs this to stop ships from Russia and China. Six months ago, Trump regularly talked about Greenland, although that has not been the case lately.
“Greenland is very important to the United States, but not important to Denmark,” he said.
This, of course, angered Denmark, a NATO member whose Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was in Ankara for the summit.
“Our position is as clear as ever. Greenland is certainly not for sale,” she said after hearing Mr Trump’s comments.
“We hope that everyone, including all allies, will respect the right of the people of Greenland to self-determination.”
She said Denmark was “ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory” and added that she expected her country’s NATO allies to do the same.
“One of the reasons we created NATO many, many years ago is so that if something happens to one of us, then we all have to stand up for each other,” she said.
Trump’s plane change raises security concerns
Trump flew to Turkey on a new plane, Air Force One, which was a gift to the United States from Qatar.
It was Trump’s first international trip on the luxury Boeing 747. But on the final day of the summit, he said he would not leave on it.
Instead, he said the plane would be flown to the US base at Mildenhall in the UK “to give them a chance to inspect the aircraft”.
“For old time’s sake, we will be flying ex-Air Force One from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is absolutely worth making to give our great military heroes the opportunity to appreciate our wonderful new addition to the RAF fleet!”
The sudden change in plan has raised questions about whether safety concerns were a deciding factor.
A New York Post reporter at the summit asked Trump to refute rumors that “security concerns related to Iran” were behind the move.
He didn’t answer the question directly, but talked about being “number one on Iran’s hit list.”
When asked a follow-up question, he said he would “go home the usual way” so that the “truly magnificent” new aircraft could be shown to soldiers in Europe.
Security threats have been a recurring theme in the debate over whether the United States should accept an aircraft donated by a foreign government for presidential use.
Some experts have said mitigating those risks would cost billions, although the Air Force said last year that upgrading the ship to safety standards would cost “likely less than” US$400 million ($577 million).
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa talks with Donald Trump and other senior US officials in Ankara. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
The President of Syria was brought out of the cold
Although he was not a NATO member, one of the interesting guests at the summit was Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander turned Syrian president who was trying to pull his country out of a diplomatic freeze.
Türkiye, host of the NATO summit, along with the Saudis, played a central role in these efforts.
Al-Sharaa was sitting next to Trump, who has repeatedly praised the man for his efforts to rebuild Syria after decades of dictatorship and civil war, when the journalist asked the US president whether he would remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
This designation triggers financial sanctions, export controls and restrictions on foreign aid.
“I think yes. I think I will. Why not? He did a great job,” Trump responded.
It was another victory for Mr Al-Sharaa a day after he welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the Syrian capital, but two explosions outside Mr Macron’s hotel cast a shadow over the trip, recalling the challenges still facing Syria and its new leader.
Australia’s Indo-Pacific region is ‘interconnected’ with NATO, alliance chief says
Australia is not a member of the NATO alliance, but is a NATO partner country and a member of the bloc known as the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4). This group also includes Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
It is therefore encouraged to send a representative to summits, and Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy was in Ankara this week.
During his final press conference on Wednesday, NATO chief Mark Rutte was asked about the importance of IP4.
“This is an important relationship, and it is important because it is about recognizing that there are two theaters of war: the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic,” he said.
“They are more and more interconnected. They cannot be separated.”
Mr Rutte said it was “not the intention” of NATO to extend its Article 5 obligations to the Indo-Pacific region.
“The goal is to work together as much as possible on the defense industry, on innovation and standards, and to exchange views on defense spending and how to best use it,” he said.