2026 NATO summit to be held in Ankara, Erdoğan announces

ANKARA

Türkiye will host 2026 NATO leaders summit in the capital Ankara to prepare ground for important decisions to be taken, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on June 30, Erdoğan said, "The 2026 NATO leaders summit will be hosted by Türkiye in July. We will welcome NATO leaders in our capital Ankara and prepare the ground for important decisions."

Erdoğan reflected on his participation in the NATO summit held in The Hague on June 24-25, emphasizing Türkiye's firm stance on defense cooperation and regional issues.

"We reflected our determination to remove barriers to trade in defense industry products in alliance documents," he said.

The president noted that Türkiye raised the issue of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza during the summit meetings. "In both the closed-door sessions and in our discussions with leaders, we drew attention to the oppression in Gaza that has continued for the past 21 months," Erdoğan added.