2026 Ankara NATO summit
NATO diplomatic conference in Turkey
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The 2026 Ankara summit was a meeting of heads of state and heads of government of NATO member states, held in Ankara, Turkey, on 7–8 July 2026.[1][2] It is the 36th NATO summit and the second hosted by Turkey following the 2004 summit in Istanbul.[3] The summit took place at the Presidential Complex.
| NATO Summit Ankara 2026 2026 Ankara Summit | |
|---|---|
| |
| Host country | Turkey |
| Date | 7–8 July 2026 |
| City | Ankara |
| Venues | Presidential Complex |
| Follows | 2025 The Hague NATO summit |
| Precedes | 2027 Tirana NATO summit |
| Website | www |
Infrastructure and preparations
Prior to the summit, extensive infrastructure and urban renewal projects were carried out along the primary transit routes and surrounding areas of the venue. Coordinated by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, major road expansion, resurfacing, and intersection modernization projects were completed on the highway connecting Esenboğa International Airport to the summit center. As part of urban beautification efforts, the facades of buildings located on protocol routes were repainted, and large-scale landscaping and smart signaling systems were implemented.[4]
Security measures and protests
The Governorship of Ankara announced a comprehensive ban on all rallies, demonstrations, and leaflet distributions across the province, effective from 28 June to 10 July 2026.[5] Extensive security measures led to the closure of several main arteries to traffic, and administrative leave was granted to certain public personnel for the duration of the event.[6]
In the two weeks leading up to the summit, anti-NATO protests took place in several cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. Demonstrations led by labor unions and various non-governmental organizations opposed increased military budgets and NATO's expansion policies.[7] According to reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and local rights advocates, anti-terror operations and crackdowns targeting protesters resulted in the detention of over 200 individuals, including activists, lawyers, and journalists.[8][9]
Participants
Invited non-NATO members
| Country or organization |
Invitee | Title | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
Pat Conroy | Minister for Defence Industry | [13] | |
 Azerbaijan |
Ilham Aliyev | President | Absent | |
 Bahrain |
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani | Foreign Minister | [14] | |
 European Union |
António Costa | President of the European Council | Present | |
| Ursula von der Leyen | President of the European Commission | Present | ||
 Japan |
Shinjirō Koizumi | Defence Minister | Present | [15] |
| Toshimitsu Motegi | Foreign Minister | Present | ||
 Kuwait |
Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah | Foreign Minister | Present | [14] |
 New Zealand |
Chris Penk | Minister of Defence | [16] | |
 Qatar |
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani | Foreign Minister | [14] | |
 South Korea |
Lee Jae Myung | President | Present | [13] |
 Syria |
Ahmed al-Sharaa | President | Present | [17] |
 Ukraine |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy | President | Present | [13] |
 United Arab Emirates |
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Foreign Minister | [14] |
See also
Notes
- The government initially refused to grant accreditation to the President, despite the established tradition of the President attending NATO summits.[10] In response, the President filed a competence dispute with the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. While the Court has not yet ruled on the core issue, it issued a preliminary injunction ordering the government to accredit the President.[11] Consequently, as of June 2026, both the President and the Prime Minister claim the role of the head of the delegation.[12]