The 2026 NATO summit in Ankara concluded with allies pledging €140 billion in military aid to Ukraine for 2026-2027 and Trump offering Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors. Concurrently, the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed after Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering US strikes on ~170 Iranian targets and Iranian retaliation against US bases in Gulf states. Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' but agreed to continue talks. Turkey moved closer to resolving the S-400 impasse, with Kremlin confirming talks on a potential transfer to a Gulf state (likely UAE or Qatar) to enable Turkey's return to the F-35 program. Iran buried former Supreme Leader Khamenei in Mashhad amid the renewed fighting, with successor Mojtaba Khamenei absent from public view. Israel warned of an alleged Iranian plot against Trump. LNG tankers continue transiting the Strait of Hormuz despite heightened risks. Spain rejected Trump's claim it caved on defense spending demands. The summit highlighted NATO's adaptation to a '3.0' doctrine with greater European burden-sharing, while transatlantic tensions persisted over Iran and defense spending.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met US President Donald Trump at the White House to prepare for the alliance's summit in Ankara, where Rutte credited Trump with driving up European and Canadian defence spending and discussed NATO support for Ukraine. At the summit, Turkey's Defense Ministry welcomed Trump's remarks on possible CAATSA sanctions relief, stating that sanctions are incompatible with the spirit of the alliance and should be lifted, and described the summit as a historic gathering where allies addressed security threats and strengthened collective deterrence. Turkey signed defense cooperation agreements with Canada, Romania, and Bulgaria, including an amendment to expand the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group's mandate to protect critical undersea infrastructure. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler held bilateral talks with counterparts from Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Hungary, Canada, Romania, and Bulgaria, focusing on defense cooperation and regional security.

Turkey and Iraq are finalizing a one-year agreement to maintain crude oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which had been offline for 2.5 years due to an arbitration dispute. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced the deal after talks in Baghdad, aiming to continue oil flow to the Ceyhan port and expand energy cooperation, including the Development Road Project.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Turkey's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned a European Parliament resolution criticizing Turkey's 1974 military intervention in Cyprus, calling it 'null and void' and accusing the EU of bias. The TRNC argued the resolution distorts historical facts and ignores atrocities against Turkish Cypriots, while Turkey's ministry expressed concern over the EU's increasingly one-sided stance on the decades-long dispute.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended his first NATO summit in Ankara, where he proposed a 'Korea-NATO Defense Partnership 2.0' that expands cooperation beyond arms procurement to joint research, production, and operations. The summit produced concrete outcomes including the launch of negotiations on a Korea-NATO Procurement Framework Agreement and expanded South Korean participation in NATO's multinational capability projects. Lee also met with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pledging $100 million in reconstruction aid to Ukraine. The summit underscores the growing interconnection between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar, in Baku. Bayraktar briefed Aliyev on Bayraktar Technologies' ongoing projects in Azerbaijan, underscoring deepening defense and technology cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Selçuk Bayraktar, chairman of Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar, previously predicted that unmanned fighter jets would replace manned combat aviation within 30 years. In a new statement on June 30, 2026, he said autonomous jet-powered combat drones will only gain broad acceptance after proving themselves in battle, predicting Baykar will lead that demonstration. He argued such systems are a new class of weapon, not a fighter jet generation, and highlighted software-driven advantages. Baykar's Kızılelma drone is a key project. Bayraktar's personal fortune reached $2.7 billion in 2026, ranking ninth among Turkey's richest. President Erdogan promoted Baykar's drones at the NATO summit closing news conference on July 8, 2026, citing significant global orders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Ankara on the sidelines of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. The meeting focused on bilateral relations, defense industry cooperation, and regional issues. Erdogan invited Rama to the COP31 Leaders Summit in Antalya. The summit, hosted by Türkiye, marked the second NATO summit held in the country and provided a platform for bilateral talks on political, security, and economic cooperation.