Rubio–Fidan Bilateral at NATO Helsingborg FM Meeting; Ankara Summit Agenda Set

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met bilaterally on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden (May 21–22, 2026), the last major ministerial gathering before the July 7–8 NATO Summit in Ankara. According to the US State Department readout, discussions covered preparation for the Ankara summit, defense spending commitments, Strait of Hormuz access, and regional stability — particularly regarding the Middle East and Syria's post-Assad transition. The meeting signals a cautious warming in US–Turkey relations ahead of Turkey's first hosting of a NATO summit. Fidan separately stated the Ankara summit should 'reaffirm the alliance's unity and integrity' as European NATO allies face sustained US pressure to increase defense expenditures toward and beyond 2% of GDP.