Ahead of NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump praises Erdoğan as Ankara’s president navigates alliance politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is once again positioned as a key player in NATO politics as leaders prepare to meet in Ankara for an upcoming alliance summit, with U.S. President Donald Trump traveling to Turkey and praising Erdoğan as “a friend” and “a respected leader,” according to reporting ahead of the meeting. The relationship comes amid continued friction inside NATO over Turkey’s security choices and the scope of alliance cooperation. Fox News reported that Erdoğan’s trajectory over two decades has repeatedly shifted in response to changing domestic needs and international realities, moving from an era of Islamist political roots to later nationalist themes and, more recently, a role focused on negotiating leverage with NATO partners. In the years since Erdoğan rose from Istanbul political leadership to the presidency, NATO has at times struggled to manage Turkey as an ally, including after Ankara took delivery of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system in 2019, a decision that added strain with the alliance’s other members. The same reporting described Erdoğan as difficult for NATO to sideline despite those tensions, a dynamic that, the report said, has been sharpened as the war in Ukraine continues and instability persists in surrounding regions. Alongside Erdoğan’s summit role, Turkish authorities carried out a security operation ahead of the NATO gathering. Fox News reported that Turkey detained more than 200 suspects, including people described by investigators as alleged ISIS militants, in a sweeping raid undertaken as a pre-summit measure. The detentions were described in the reporting as part of broader efforts to reduce threats around a period of heightened international attention. U.S. officials are also expected to be closely involved in the immediate agenda. Fox News reported that U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker discussed the upcoming NATO summit and the Trump administration’s approval of a $700 million arms sale to Turkey. The report tied those developments to defense discussions that could intersect with Turkey’s long-running efforts to deepen military cooperation with Washington. Within Turkey, Erdoğan’s ability to maintain power has been framed by experts cited in the reporting as the product of political survival rather than a fixed ideological program. Fox News said analysts view Erdoğan as “reinventing himself” as circumstances change, adopting whichever political line offers the best path to staying in office. As leaders arrive for the NATO summit, the practical effect of the U.S.-Turkey alignment will likely be tested against remaining alliance concerns, including interoperability and the political risks posed by Turkey’s separate security relationships. For Ankara and NATO, the near-term question is how far the leaders’ dialogue will translate into concrete security and defense coordination as both sides confront the same immediate challenge: preventing the alliance meeting from becoming only a symbolic display of ties rather than a structured step toward shared plans.