Ankara Summit Content Series

These articles are part of a series featuring Atlantic Council experts’ analysis and recommendations on the key challenges facing allies at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, and beyond.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING


Trackers and Data Visualizations

Jun 20, 2025

NATO defense spending tracker

By
Kristen Taylor, Julia Salabert

The Transatlantic Security Initiative’s NATO defense spending tracker delves into data and figures to analyze current defense spending trends.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

FEATURED READING

FEATURED EVENTS

TUNE IN

ARCHIVES: THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL ON THE ROAD TO THE NATO SUMMIT

Programs and initiatives

The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

Within the Atlantic Council’s longstanding commitment to strengthening the transatlantic relationship, the Atlantic Council Turkey Program conducts research, provides thought leadership, and offers a platform for strategic dialogue between the US, Turkey, and NATO allies to address the region’s toughest challenges and explore opportunities, including in the fields of energy, business & trade, technology, defense, and security.

Content

Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, Feb. 2, 2015

NATOSource

Sep 1, 2016

Vershbow: NATO and Finland Consult ‘at the Highest Levels’

By Alexander Vershbow, NATO

Following our Wales Summit in 2014, Finland became one of NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partners (or EOPs), which means more co-ownership, more dialogue on cooperative security, and more interaction together.

NATO NATO Partnerships
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, May 28, 2010

NATOSource

Sep 1, 2016

Erdogan Government Fueling ‘Unprecedented’ Anti-Americanism in Turkey

By Henri J. Barkey, New York Times

Turkish society has long been steeped in conspiracy theories, but the widespread stoking of anti-Americanism today is unprecedented.

NATO Security & Defense
US soldiers of the 91st Cavalry Regiment, May 11, 2015

NATOSource

Aug 31, 2016

Members of Congress: US Must Stand Strong for Allies and Principles

By Chris Coons and Charlie Dent, Philadelphia Inquirer

As a Republican representative from Pennsylvania and a Democratic senator from Delaware, we disagree on our fair share of issues.

NATO Northern Europe
Foreign Ministers Jean‑Marc Ayrault, Frank‑Walter Steinmeier, & Witold Waszczykowski, August 28, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2016

France, Germany, and Poland Call for a European Security Council

By Germany's Federal Office

We want to strengthen the European Union and the foundations of European integration by proving its ability to act….

European Union France
Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, March 24, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2016

Vershbow: Russia’s Snap Military Exercises Straining Relations With NATO

By AP

Russia is increasingly conducting unannounced military exercises, straining its relationship with NATO, the alliance’s No. 2 official said Monday.

NATO Russia

In the News

Aug 27, 2016

Bryza in Newsweek: NATO Must Act to Halt Turkey’s Freefall into Putin’s Arms

By Matthew Bryza

Read the full article here.

NATO Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin, July 21, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 26, 2016

The NATO Blame Game

By Lucas Della Ventura, The Hill

The claim is that NATO’s expansion eastward, Ukraine and Georgia’s cozying up to the West, and historically neutral Finland and Sweden’s new interest in NATO membership have enticed Russia’s aggressive behavior,

NATO NATO Partnerships
Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, August 23, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 25, 2016

Top US General: Russia Trying to Undermine NATO

By Jim Garamone, DoD News

The threat baseline, he [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford] said, is four-plus-one: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and violent extremism.

NATO Russia
Vice President Joe Biden

NATOSource

Aug 23, 2016

Biden Assures Allies and Criticizes Trump’s Ignorance of NATO

By Washington Post, Politico, and Reuters

From Karen De Young, Washington Post:  In Riga on Tuesday, [Vice President Joe] Biden reiterated U.S. and NATO determination to stand against Russian aggression in the Baltic region,

NATO Northern Europe
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Nov. 9, 2015

NATOSource

Aug 22, 2016

Inching Closer: The Impact of Sweden’s Growing Relationship with NATO

By Rahul Krishna

At the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the Prime Minister of Sweden participated, for the first time, in a meeting of the heads of state of the Alliance.

NATO NATO Partnerships

Experts