NATO summit in Turkey

Right now: Donald Trump has landed in Ankara

US President Donald Trump has landed in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of the NATO summit, writes AFP. During the day, Trump will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and tonight he will attend the NATO leaders' dinner.

The agenda for the two-day meeting includes Europe's defense spending, the war in Ukraine and the security situation in the Middle East.

Trump is also expected to signal that the United States may resume the sale of F-35 planes to Turkey, writes CNN.

Analysis: NATO summit could be "Best in test" with Trump as a participant

The meeting in Ankara has been described as "the most important in NATO's history" by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Several security policy issues will be addressed, but Donald Trump has already focused on defense spending.

“When Trump takes the baton, the situation is like in the entertainment program Best in Test: Everything can happen and everything can turn around,” writes Bo Torbjörn Ek in DN.

Trump has long demanded that NATO countries take greater economic responsibility and the issue is expected to be the most critical. Something that CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is not impressed with.

“While NATO members are still bickering about how big their defense budgets should be in the coming years, Russia is currently spending possibly 7 percent of its GDP.”

SVT's Johan Granlund says that the publication of individual countries' armaments, combined with Trump's spats, can motivate those who have fallen behind.

– And it is actually necessary to keep Donald Trump and the USA happy. 

Trump lashes out at Meloni with doctored image – demands “visit ban”

The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has continued to deteriorate ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey.

On Sunday evening, Trump posted a picture on Truth Social in which Meloni appears to be casting an admiring glance at the president. The picture had the caption “visit ban required”.

Meloni’s facial expression has likely been manipulated with some kind of AI tool, writes France 24. In the video from which the picture was taken, Meloni does not look the same affectionate.

Meloni was long seen as Europe’s “Trump whisperer” but the relationship has deteriorated significantly, partly due to disagreements over the Iran war and public attacks from Trump.