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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Monday, holding talks ahead of a two-day alliance summit set to open in the Turkish capital on Tuesday.
The meeting covered the agenda of the Ankara summit as well as regional and global developments, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.
Erdogan expressed hope that the summit, which Türkiye is hosting, would bring positive results, saying preparations were complete.
He stressed the importance of the gathering addressing a broad range of issues, from collective defense to boosting defense industry cooperation among NATO allies.
The Turkish president also said he expected a Defense Industry Forum being held on the sidelines to be closely watched.
At a pre-summit news conference, Rutte underscored Türkiye's growing role inside NATO, pointing to the country's geographic position and rapidly expanding defense industrial base.
"NATO is already very much profiting from what Türkiye is doing in terms of the defense industrial output," he told reporters.
Rutte cited ASELSAN, one of Türkiye's largest defense electronics companies, as a prominent example, while noting it represents only a fraction of roughly 3,000 defense firms operating in the country, ranging from large corporations to medium-sized and smaller suppliers.
He said Türkiye was already supporting numerous other member states through its defense industry.
ASELSAN is among five companies selected by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency for the alliance's Modular Air Defense Concept Stage and is preparing new deliveries of Identification Friend or Foe systems and communication solutions.
Rutte also thanked Erdogan and his team for hosting allied leaders at what he called a "fantastic venue."
Rutte urged allies to move beyond pledges and convert increased defense budgets into concrete military capabilities, calling on members to put "cash to work" for drones, missiles and air defense interceptors.
He previewed Tuesday's Defense Industry Forum, where allied governments and defense companies are expected to unveil new agreements.
"We will announce tens of billions in new contracts that will provide the crucial kit we need to deter and defend," he said, adding that industries "from Arkansas to Ankara" would be combining their strengths and stepping up supply.
On burden-sharing, Rutte said allies had committed at last year's summit to spend five percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035, and were already making significant progress.
He said European allies and Canada are now investing around four percent of their GDP in defense and security, while also taking on greater responsibilities within the alliance and moving toward matching United States defense spending levels.
Rutte took aim at China following Beijing's test-launch of a long-range ballistic missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean, which China described as a routine military exercise.
Rutte said the launch demonstrated why allies "cannot be naive about China," arguing that security developments in the Indo-Pacific and the transatlantic region are increasingly intertwined.
On Ukraine, Rutte called for the alliance to keep supporting Kyiv, particularly by reinforcing its air defense.
He described Russian overnight missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities as "another horrific attack," saying all allies must continue providing Ukraine with the support it needs because "Ukraine's security is so closely linked with our own." Ukrainian officials reported at least 20 people killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region in the strikes.
NATO heads of state and government are gathering in Ankara on July 7-8 for the alliance's 2026 summit, hosted by Türkiye.
The meeting will focus on implementing defense spending commitments agreed at last year's summit, sustaining military support for Ukraine and expanding defense industrial production.
It is taking place amid renewed debate over transatlantic burden-sharing and continued uncertainty over the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to participate in summit events.
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