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Trump Participates in a NATO Leaders' Working Session, Jul. 8, 2026

July 8, 2026 · The White House · 0:08:21

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump participated in the NATO Leaders’ Working Session in Ankara, Turkey on July 8, 2026 — the summit’s formal working meeting of heads of state and government. The White House upload carries the session’s opening, in which host President Erdogan welcomed the leaders and set out Turkey’s position.

Erdogan said the allies had focused, following the earlier Hague summit decisions, on ensuring European allies become better security providers. Turkey, he said, would increase its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP before 2030, had already reached a 1.5% share on security and resilience spending, and aimed to reach the alliance’s 5% target five years before the determined time. He cited 361 allocated capability targets, almost all to be covered within three years, an additional $24 billion allocated to air and missile defense through Turkey’s Steel Dome project, and Turkey’s standing as the ally with the largest army in Europe, contributing to alliance operations from Kosovo to the Black Sea and the Baltic.

Why it matters

The working session is the summit’s decision room, and this upload is its official opening record: the host’s spending commitments stated in the room the President sat in, against the alliance target the administration has made its central NATO demand. This chronicle files it on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub with the figures attributed to President Erdogan.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Turkey’s stated path — 3.5% of GDP on defense before 2030 and the 5% alliance target five years early, as stated by President Erdogan — is a dated allied commitment made at the session. Noted for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in a NATO Leaders’ Working Session,” Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by President Erdogan in the session’s opening.