Rutte Visits Ankara: July Summit Preparation; Turkey as Crisis-Era Host

NATO Secretary General Rutte arrived in Ankara on April 21 for a closed two-day visit — meeting President Erdoğan, FM Fidan, and Defense Minister Güler — to prepare the July 7–8 NATO Leaders' Summit. The summit will be the first hosted by Turkey and a defining test of alliance cohesion under unprecedented US-NATO tension. Rutte's Ankara diplomacy marks the transition from crisis management (post-Hormuz) to institutional stabilization, with the Turkish summit providing both an opportunity for a unified message and a risk that Erdoğan leverages the host role for side-demands.