According to German government circles, the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Ankara, will be an opportunity for a first interim assessment following last year's NATO summit in The Hague.

An official, providing information about the summit, stated that European allies have increased their defense spending by more than 100 billion euros in the last 12 months, noting that Germany alone has increased its defense spending by approximately 25 billion euros to 124 billion euros.

The official noted that Germany has thus doubled its defense spending compared to 2022.

The official shared that Germany plans to increase its defense spending to 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2029, indicating that this will be achieved before the date agreed upon at the summit in The Hague.

The official recalled that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with leaders of the E5 countries and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in recent weeks regarding the NATO Summit in Ankara, and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump, stating that Chancellor Merz "hopes for an 'Ankara spirit' to emerge" at the summit and is "working towards it."

The official emphasized that a signal should emerge from the summit indicating that Europeans are taking on more responsibility for their own security, both financially and through cooperation in the defense industry.

"We Europeans are taking on greater responsibilities," said the official, adding that European defense ministers are working on a joint declaration on defense cooperation.

The official mentioned that the issue of Ukraine will play an important role at the summit, stating that support to be provided to Ukraine will be discussed there, and that the aim is to further increase transatlantic alignment on Ukraine in Ankara politically.

The official drew attention to the fact that the issue of Iran will also be discussed in Ankara, recalling that the German Chancellor and allies welcomed the agreement reached between the US and Iran.