Turkey Gains Military Deals but Faces Diplomatic Setbacks at NATO Summit in Ankara

The recent NATO summit in Ankara portrayed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a dominant regional figure and key mediator, but behind the scenes, the reality was quite different. NATO appears to use Turkey primarily for its strategic geographic position and military capabilities, without genuine respect for Erdogan’s leadership. Despite hosting the summit and investing heavily in security and infrastructure, Erdogan failed to secure major strategic gains and suffered diplomatic slights.

A notable incident underscoring tensions was the provocative reception of the Greek Prime Minister, where the Turkish military band wore Ottoman-era uniforms and played a nostalgic Turkish war anthem, an intentional affront to a NATO ally. Erdogan also gave European leaders locally made magnum revolvers with live ammunition as gifts, which were viewed as crude and aggressive, forcing some leaders to immediately disable the weapons due to legal restrictions.

While Turkey secured significant defense contracts worth $50 billion and commitments of €70 billion in aid to Ukraine, Western powers refused to restore Turkey’s full participation in the F-35 fighter jet program, offering only conditional consideration. The summit also highlighted the West’s frustration with Erdogan’s alignment with Iran and Russia, as U.S. President Donald Trump openly criticized NATO’s lack of support for American actions against Iran during the conference.

The summit’s outcomes reveal a transactional relationship: NATO exploits Turkey’s military and geographic assets but excludes Erdogan from key strategic decisions. Erdogan’s attempts to assert regional influence, including anti-Greek agendas and closer ties with Russia, were rebuffed. For Israel, the summit signals an opportunity to strengthen trilateral ties with Greece and Cyprus, counterbalance Turkish influence in the Eastern Mediterranean, and leverage Western concerns about Turkey to condition arms deals on Ankara’s alignment with U.S. security interests.

In summary, the Ankara summit exposed the limits of Erdogan’s regional ambitions and NATO’s pragmatic use of Turkey, emphasizing strategic utility over alliance camaraderie.