# NATO Ankara summit exposes rift as Trump threatens F‑35 reset with Turkey over Israel’s warnings

*Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-07-07T20:05:23.201Z (3h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Global
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/10309.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: As NATO leaders gather in Ankara, Donald Trump has blasted the alliance as a disappointment while dangling F‑35 fighter sales and a lifting of CAATSA sanctions for Turkey — a move Israel warns would upend the Middle East balance of power. The summit has become as much about intra‑alliance bargaining and personal ties with President Erdoğan as about collective defense.

The NATO summit in Ankara is exposing deep fractures inside the alliance, with U.S. President Donald Trump publicly disparaging the bloc even as he signals a dramatic reset in defense ties with Turkey that alarms other regional partners, particularly Israel.

Upon arriving in Ankara, Trump said he was “very disappointed” with NATO and would not have attended the summit if it were not being held in Turkey, which he described as led by his “friend and very strong leader” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The comment underscored how heavily the U.S. president is leaning on a personal relationship with Ankara’s leader at a gathering meant to showcase unified strategy toward Russia, the Middle East, and emerging security threats.

In meetings with Erdoğan, Trump went further, stating that he would lift CAATSA sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of Russia’s S‑400 air defense system and that he had “no problem” selling F‑35 stealth fighters to Ankara. Asked whether Turkey might have to hand its S‑400 system to a third party as part of any deal, Trump’s tone suggested flexibility, though no binding agreement was announced.

For Turkish officials, the signals are a potential breakthrough. Ankara was ejected from the F‑35 program and sanctioned under U.S. law for bringing in the Russian system, which Washington said risked compromising NATO’s air defense network and the fighter’s secrets. Being readmitted to advanced U.S. fighter sales and freed from sanctions would bolster Turkey’s air force modernization and support Erdoğan’s narrative that his government can stand firm against pressure yet still secure top‑tier technology.

Israel, however, is pushing back. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly argued that selling F‑35s to Turkey would “destroy the balance of power in the Middle East” and said he would not endorse such a move. For Israeli planners, maintaining a qualitative military edge — including exclusive or near‑exclusive access in the region to the most advanced variants of Western combat aircraft — is a core security assumption. A Turkish F‑35 fleet, in the hands of a government with which Israel has had volatile relations, would force a reassessment of air dominance and contingency planning from the Eastern Mediterranean to Syria.

The broader NATO picture is equally fraught. Trump’s open disappointment with the alliance clashes with Secretary General Mark Rutte’s effort to project strength, including his assertion that Ukraine is performing “much better” on the battlefield than three or four months ago and inflicting “enormous” damage on Russia’s economy. While some leaders focused on air defense support and political backing for Kyiv, Trump’s bilateral with Erdoğan and his rhetoric on NATO risked overshadowing core agenda items and raising questions about how much U.S. political capital he is willing to invest in the alliance’s collective priorities.

For European capitals already wary of Washington’s long‑term reliability, the spectacle is a reminder that NATO now has to manage not only external threats but also divergent strategic bets among its own members. A Turkey potentially rearmed with F‑35s and relieved of U.S. sanctions would be a more capable, but also more independent, actor on NATO’s southeastern flank, with leverage over Black Sea access, migration routes, and Middle Eastern airspace.

What makes Ankara’s summit different is that alliance cohesion is being tested in real time against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, shifting energy routes, and heightened confrontation with Iran. The question is no longer whether internal disagreements exist, but how far individual leaders are prepared to push them when cameras are on and deals are being floated.

Key signals to watch after Ankara will be whether the U.S. formalizes any CAATSA relief or F‑35 roadmap for Turkey, how Congress reacts to such a move, and whether Israel escalates its opposition through lobbying in Washington or adjustments in its own procurement plans. The language in the summit’s final communiqués, particularly on alliance unity, Turkey’s role and commitments to Ukraine, will show whether the rift is papered over or becomes the defining story of NATO’s Ankara meeting.