NATO summit in Ankara stalls on Greek bases and Turkey‑US S‑400 dispute

The NATO summit in Ankara did not discuss nor decide on establishing NATO headquarters in Adana or Istanbul, as reported by senior diplomatic sources. Turkey had asked that its national bases be convertible to NATO use during crises, but Greece kept its veto on Turkey’s participation in the SAFE defence programme, citing the ongoing Turkish casus belli against Greece. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the removal of restrictions on defence cooperation and industry among allies, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised Turkey’s stance and labeled the casus belli reference a “historical misspelling.”

NATO Secretary‑General Jens Stoltenberg (Mark Rutte in the articles) avoided commenting on the dispute over Turkey’s Russian S‑400 air‑defence system, describing it as a bilateral issue between the United States and Turkey. The alliance reaffirmed its collective‑defence commitment under Article 5 and the goal of spending 5 % of GDP on defence by 2035. Leaders also announced about $50 billion in defence‑industry contracts and pledged continued military aid to Ukraine worth at least €70 billion over the next two years. Erdogan suggested a new diplomatic dialogue with Greece, but maintained Turkey’s core demands, and no substantive change to the casus belli position was reported. The summit was characterized by Rutte as “particularly successful” despite the unresolved tensions.