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Türkiye intends to invite Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and leaders of several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, to the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7-8.
Ankara is also pushing for the Iran war to be placed on the summit agenda, Turkish media outlet T24's Barcin Yinanc reported, citing information from the Ankara-based TurkeyinDepth newsletter.
Some NATO allies are reportedly uncomfortable with both proposals.
According to T24's Yinanc, Ankara is pursuing two linked goals with the Arab leader invitations: consolidating the new Damascus government by giving Sharaa visibility on the NATO stage, and sending a message to Israel.
Türkiye also wants the Iran war discussed at a ministerial-level session, consistent with its long-standing emphasis on NATO's southern flank and 360-degree defense concept.
However, Yinanc reports that allies who want the summit's main weight placed on the Russia-Ukraine war have signaled their reluctance to see the Iran conflict placed on the agenda.
On the Russia question, it's reported that Ankara is also pushing for discussion of the future of NATO-Russia relations, a stance that European allies, who have no intention of engaging or dialoguing with Moscow at this stage, are said to view with similar distance.
As Yinanc explains, NATO summits routinely invite non-member "partner" country leaders, typically for a separate dinner session, alongside the main heads-of-state meeting. The NATO Secretary General and the host country must coordinate jointly on invitations.
Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea typically receive invitations and are expected to be invited again. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the foreign ministers' session.
Ankara reportedly wants to invite Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, which are notably not members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the Gulf security partnership program launched at the 2004 Istanbul NATO Summit that included Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
Yinanc notes the initiative "produced little of substance."
Yinanc argues that Türkiye's ability to deliver a strong message of unity and a sense of transatlantic solidarity from the summit, at a time of deep U.S.-Europe division, will be the primary measure of its success as host.
She cautions that Ankara's insistence on contested items where allies are unwilling risks weakening its hand on the agenda points that matter most to Turkish strategic interests, particularly keeping European defense architecture under the NATO umbrella rather than developing it in parallel.
"The summit carries meaning far beyond a routine meeting," Yinanc writes, adding, "It is taking place at a moment when the tectonic plates are shifting."
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