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NATO leaders hoping to display cohesion at an upcoming summit in Turkey
LONDON (AP) — NATO’s deputy commander told The Associated Press that he wants a summit in Turkey to spur member countries to spend more on defense, reaffirm support for Ukraine and underline the unity of the alliance.
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, spoke to AP in London less than two weeks before the crucial Ankara summit on July 7-8 tests the cohesion of the 77-year-old alliance.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sent conflicting signals over America’s force posture in Europe, at times threatening to leave and at other times unnerving European leaders with his push to annex Greenland or his flattery of NATO adversary Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lambasted NATO allies last week for not allowing use of their bases to attack Iran, as he announced a surprise six-month review of American forces in Europe.
Meanwhile, government ministers in the U.K. have quit over what they say are military spending plans that fail to keep Britain safe.
Summits are “highly political events and they are a demonstration of any organization’s unity,” said Stringer, a senior British air force officer. It would be strange if over decades of NATO expanding there weren’t moments of turbulence, he said.
“Are we in one of those moments at the moment? Yes, we are,” Stringer said in an interview at a military conference in London where AP also interviewed other senior European military officials about their hopes — and fears — for the summit.
NATO’s European members step up on defense
Trump has long urged European allies to take more responsibility for their own defense, and with the notable exception of Spain they have largely heeded with an unprecedented effort to spend more on their armed forces.
Russia is increasingly threatening Europe, so allies should boost their own militaries while also helping Ukraine degrade Russia’s fighting power, said Maj. Gen. Indrek Sirel, a commander in Estonia’s armed forces.
“Europe as a whole has a lot to do in order to be credible against Russia,” said Brig. Gen. Jyri Raitasalo of Finland, which shares NATO’s longest border with Russia.
Stringer said European nations are investing to generate a “really credible force,” citing as an example how some countries are quadrupling production of 155 mm artillery shells. The summit will discuss ramping up production in ways the alliance has not had to do in decades, Stringer said.
European military chiefs wait for clarity on US plans
The outcome of Hegseth’s six-month review of forces will determine how fast Europeans must take responsibility for their own security. The U.S. military in Europe had said earlier in the month that Washington would be withdrawing some capabilities from Europe and expecting other allies to fill the gaps.
The Trump administration says that troop reductions in Europe have long been planned and coordinated with allies, but Sirel said it’s still not clear how U.S. forces will be positioned in the Baltic states. That includes some U.S.-led deterrence of Russia on NATO’s eastern flank.
Sirel said he was “confident” he could rely on a U.S. presence, while also saying the Estonian military is finding ways to react to sudden changes.
Stringer said it would be difficult to replace U.S. long-range strike and surveillance capabilities, but that he was “confident” allies could bridge the gap — not always with the same equipment but by mixing a “cocktail” of capabilities.
Only the U.S. operates B1 and B52 bomber aircraft, but in theory, a loss of their capabilities might be offset by firing missiles from a variety of other systems including from the ground, sea and smaller aircraft, he said.
Changing plans suddenly is not good for defense
NATO allies were bewildered in May when Trump said he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number pulled from Europe.
Such sudden changes are challenging because military planning requires long-term strategy, said Raitasalo, the Finnish military’s logistics chief. “If you change your mind, or change your plan, every week or every month or even every year, you will not get very good results,” he said.
Raitasalo said the allies need to make clear pledges of capabilities, rather than just promise spending.
Sweden’s army chief, Maj. Gen. Jonny Lindfors, said a good outcome from the summit would be “a common picture of how to realign when it comes to deterrence and defense.”
Lindfors said he would like at least an outline — if not a “clear vision” — on how defense burdens should shift so that he knows what “NATO 3.0 is starting to look like.”
Britain needs to commit to defense
British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned earlier this month, along with another minister, saying the government was unable and unwilling to commit the resources Britain needs to “defend the country at this time of rising threats.”
At last year’s NATO summit, members agreed to spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defense. The U.K. committed to meeting that target by 2035. However Healey said the proposed defense investment plan would see spending rise to just 2.68% of GDP in 2030.
The new defense secretary, Dan Jarvis, has said Britain will keep its commitments, and the British government has committed to publishing the spending plan.
By the summit, NATO expects nations to have a “credible path” to 3.5%, and the U.K. is “as beholden to that as anybody else,” Stringer said.
He said the U.K. cannot presume that “thought leadership” in NATO is enough, and that it must match its “forces and resources” while committing to defense.
NATO’s credibility is at stake
At last year’s summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte kept Trump on board by telling him he would achieve “BIG” success at getting allies to spend more on defense.
Stringer said that at this year’s summit it’s important to display “cohesion and unity” among the alliance’s 32 members but also to have “honest” conversations and deliver “credible” plans.
Raitasalo of Finland said the meeting must go beyond traditional “communiques, roadmaps and action plans” and demonstrate deterrence through deeds. He said if NATO members don’t step up and translate promises into action, the “credibility” of the alliance is at stake.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A volunteer firefighter died on Wednesday in Turkey after helping local emergency services tackle a large wildfire in the Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya, an official said.
The fire broke out on Monday in Antalya’s Aksu district and, fanned by strong winds, quickly spread into the neighboring Kepez district, forcing hundreds of residents from their homes. The cause of the wildfire is not known.
Hasan Kahya, an Aksu resident who was helping firefighters tackle the blaze, suffered a heart attack after being affected by the smoke and later died in hospital, the district’s mayor, Isa Yildirim, said.
Two people were hospitalized with burns to their legs on Tuesday, while six others were treated for smoke inhalation. More than 100 dogs were evacuated from an animal shelter in Aksu.
Turkey’s forestry directorate said efforts to bring the blaze under control were continuing on Wednesday, adding that the fire’s intensity had been “reduced.” At least three firefighting planes, nine helicopters, 169 fire extinguishing trucks and more than 1,000 firefighters were deployed, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Separately, firefighters were also tackling a wildfire in the district of Kozan, in the southern Adana province, where hundreds of residents have been evacuated, the forestry directorate said.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Firefighters on Tuesday battled a wildfire in Turkey’s Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya that forced hundreds of people from their homes and injured at least two people, the state-run news agency reported.
The fire broke out Monday evening in Antalya’s Aksu district and, fueled by strong winds, quickly spread into the neighboring Kepez district, Anadolu Agency reported.
Two people were hospitalized with injuries to their legs while six others affected by smoke were treated on site, the report said.
Authorities evacuated people from at least 254 homes in Aksu and Kepez and temporarily closed a highway between Antalya and the city of Isparta, located some 130 kilometers (80 miles) north.
As flames and heavy smoke threatened the area, more than 100 dogs were evacuated from an animal shelter in Aksu and taken to safety, Antalya Municipality said. Video footage showed veterinarians treating a dog affected by the smoke.
More than 2,000 homes in the region were affected by power outages, Anadolu reported.
The agency said at least five firefighting aircraft, 10 helicopters, 110 fire extinguishing trucks and 600 personnel were deployed to battle the blaze.
Firefighters were also battling wildfires in the nearby provinces of Adana and Mersin.
BERLIN (AP) — Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the quarterfinals of women’s FIBA World Cup and Puerto Rico finished strongly to eliminate Turkey in their final group games on Monday.
Meesseman had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Belgium top Australia 80-68 for first place in Group C.
The European champions are now off until Thursday. Australia faces a qualifying playoff on Wednesday against the loser of the Italy-China matchup that takes place later Monday.
Belgium had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, before using a 11-2 run to start the period and gain a double-digit advantage. The Opals couldn’t recover.
The pro-Belgian crowd cheered on their team, waving flags in support.
Puerto Rico celebrates
Arella Guirantes led Puerto Rico with 21 points for a 75-71 win over Turkey.
Puerto Rico was trailing by seven points going into the final quarter, but Imani McGee-Stafford scored and Pamela Rosado followed with two 3-pointers to take a 59-58 lead.
Turkey power forward Elif Bayram went off early in the final quarter with what looked a left leg injury.
Turkey fans outnumbered their counterparts at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle and they tried to put off Guirantes but couldn’t stop her from securing the win with two free throws.
Puerto Rico next plays the winner between Italy-China on Wednesday.
Assist queen Allemand
Belgium’s Julie Allemand became the all-time women’s FIBA World Cup assist leader in the game. She got the record-breaking assist when Meesseman hit two free throws with 1:58 left in the first half against Australia.
FIBA gives an assist out when a player is fouled and makes the free throws. Allemand passed Laia Palau of Spain, who had 108 assists in her career.
Allemand started the tournament in eighth place all-time with 87, but had 17 assists in her first two games to get within striking distance of the record.
She finished the game with seven assists to give her 111 in World Cup play.
Decisive day
The four group winners progress directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals, while the teams that finish second and third face playoffs Tuesday or Wednesday to determine which join the group winners already through to the final eight. The bottom teams are eliminated.
Host Germany (1-1) faces Mali (1-1), and Spain (1-1) plays Japan (1-1) later with all scenarios open in Group A. Any one of the four teams can win the group and progress to the quarterfinals or finish bottom and be eliminated.
France (2-0), already through to the quarterfinals, plays already eliminated Nigeria (0-2) later, with Hungary and South Korea (both 1-1) contesting second place in Group B.
Italy (1-1), after coming close to upsetting the United States Sunday night, faces China (1-1) to decide second place in Group D. The U.S. (2-0) has already advanced to the quarterfinals before its final group game against the Czech Republic, which was eliminated after two losses.
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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
BERLIN (AP) — China needed overtime to edge the Czech Republic 74-70 in a thrilling game at the Women’s Basketball World Cup on Sunday.
Han Xu scored 22 points and drew China level at 53-53 in the final quarter after her team had trailed for most of the game.
Eliška Joklová put the Czechs 64-59 up with 27 seconds left only for Luo Xinyu to respond with a 3-pointer and Yang Shuyu to level at 64-64 with 3 seconds to go – after Joklová missed two free throws. There was still time for Joklová to miss another chance to clinch the win.
Yang also completed the scoring in overtime for China, which failed to get the most from 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu. The 19-year-old sensation could only score three points in her second game after 13 on her World Cup debut against the United States on Friday.
“She has very great talent and we need to fix how we play together,” Yang said of the teenager’s performance. “Today everybody could see that we did not play so well with her, and we have to fix it.”
China (1-1) next faces Italy on Monday in a game that will likely decide second place in Group D. The Czech Republic (0-2) faces elimination after two losses before its final group game against the United States (2-0).
The U.S. was playing Italy (0-1) later Sunday with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers bidding to stretch the Americans’ winning run to 32 games. The U.S. hasn’t lost a game at the World Cup since the semifinal game of the 2006 tournament.
Belgium advances
Emma Meesseman completed the scoring as European champion Belgium (2-0) booked its place in the final phase with a comfortable 76-64 win over Puerto Rico (0-2).
Imani McGee-Stafford finished with 25 points for Puerto Rico, which lost against Belgium for the third time at a World Cup.
Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka was top scorer for the Belgians with 16 points, followed by Julie Vanloo with 15. Meesseman finished with 6.
Australia makes it 2 from 2
Ezi Magbegor scored 21 points as Australia reached the final phase with a physical 87-71 win over Turkey earlier.
Turkey, led by Sevgi Uzun with 24 points, was down 8-0 at the start but fought back after a timeout to lead 15-14. That was brief, however, as the Opals rallied to end the first quarter 21-15 up and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
Turkey’s Goksen Fitik went off with what appeared to be a right-ankle injury in the third quarter but she returned in the fourth.
The Australian team features seven World Cup debutants. Team captain Sami Whitcomb of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury had to withdraw before the tournament with a lingering knee injury.
Australia (2-0) next faces Belgium on Monday for a showdown that will decide which team progresses directly to the quarterfinals as group winner. Australia, after two wins, is already assured of at least a playoff place in the final phase of the competition.
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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will press ahead with its strategic defense cooperation with Israel but also wants to deepen relations with other states in the Middle East, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday.
Greece-Israeli ties and defense, security and energy cooperation have become increasingly close over the past decade and Mitsotakis enjoys a friendly rapport with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Shared concerns about Turkey have helped boost ties. The two countries signed a 3-billion-euro ($3.5 billion) deal on Aug. 31 for Israel to build an air defense shield in Greece.
Mitsotakis told reporters in Thessaloniki that Greece is only one of five NATO countries spending at least 3.5% of its GDP on core defense.
Greece’s traditionally high spending has been fueled by almost constant tensions with Turkey, and its questioning of Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece recognizes only the demarcation of the two countries’ respective maritime zones as an issue to be negotiated or sent to international arbitration.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to sell the advanced F-35 multirole combat aircraft to Turkey, Mitsotakis replied that he will not tell the U.S. what to do, but noted that legal obstacles remain as Turkey was sanctioned for buying the S-400 air defense system from Russia.
Greece will take delivery of its first 20 F-35s in late 2028, with an option to buy 20 more.
Mitsotakis also said he planned to visit Saudi Arabia soon, and that the recently concluded Mecca Joint Defense Agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey changes nothing in Greece’s relations with Riyadh.
Greece has maintained an air defense battery in Saudi Arabia since 2021, and has used its Patriot missiles four times since July to down drones and ballistic missiles, allegedly from Yemen, aimed at the kingdom’s oil refineries.
Mitsotakis will visit Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.
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Associated Press writer Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Friday that it has imposed sanctions on a Turkish financial institution as part of its latest effort to sever “critical financial lifelines” for the Iranian government.
The actions against Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi come after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week launched “Operation Economic Outcast, ” Washington’s new effort to isolate already heavily sanctioned Iran from its remaining trading partners to try to get it to capitulate to U.S. demands after more than six months of war.
The Treasury Department accused the Turkish bank and its entities of being established to enable Iran’s efforts to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where they could then be converted to cash and gold. It also said the institution “knowingly offered” banking services to Iranian financial entities, including those already sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022 for funneling Tehran’s oil sales.
Bessent, who had told The Associated Press earlier this week that another bank would face economic penalties, said financial institutions with ties to Iran will “continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast.”
“While we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime,” he said in a press release Friday. “We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to take action together with our allies and partners until we have buried the head of the Iranian snake.”
But so far, the goal to force those that still do business with Iran to cut off financial ties or face U.S. retaliation has fallen flat, with promises of an “economic D-Day” for a group of countries that could include China and India quickly turning into warnings and negotiations with Iran’s trading partners.
Bessent had previously told reporters that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late in a bid to avoid upending the global financial system.
The Trump administration’s reluctance to penalize major trading partners that still do business with Iran was on display last week when the U.S. took steps to limit an Egyptian bank’s operations in the United Arab Emirates but stopped short of imposing sanctions.
The U.S. also has resumed military strikes in recent days, prompting Iranian retaliation in the region. It’s unclear what the outcome of the two-pronged strategy will be for President Donald Trump, who has struggled to end an unpopular war with an intransigent Iranian government as energy prices rise and pose problems for Republicans before November’s midterm congressional elections.
Targeted in the latest U.S. sanctions is Golden Global Investment Bank, which was founded in 2019 as Turkey’s first investment bank to offer “banking services and alternative financing methods” to foreign companies, according to its website.
The Istanbul-based bank, which is largely unfamiliar to most Turks, says it aims to increase Turkey’s foreign trade through target markets in neighboring countries.
The Treasury announcement came a day after Turkey’s state-run Halkbank declared it had reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in a nine-year case focused on violating sanctions with Iran.
In that case, senior officials at Halkbank were said to have illegally moved about $20 billion worth of Iranian oil revenues. U.S. prosecutors claimed high-ranking Turkish government officials received millions of dollars in bribes to protect the scheme.
The Halkbank case caused a rift in U.S.-Turkey relations, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally lobbying the White House to have the case dropped.
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Wilks reported from Istanbul.
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