Ukraine Offers Drone Production Link as Ankara NATO Summit Nears
Bosphorus News Defense Desk
Ukraine has opened a new drone cooperation track with Türkiye as Kyiv tries to keep long-term military support on NATO's agenda before the 7-8 July summit in Ankara.
Ukraine's ambassador to Türkiye, Nariman Dzhelialov, told Reuters in Ankara on 26 May that Kyiv had proposed drone sales, joint production or technology transfer with Türkiye. He said Ukraine was also ready to provide operator training.
The offer gives the Ankara file a concrete defence industry layer. Dzhelialov said Ukraine has "ideas, dreams and working technology," while Türkiye has production capacity. He added that progress had been slow because Russia continues to strike Ukraine.
The interview came two days after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, in Ankara on 24 May. Türkiye's Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting, but did not issue a detailed readout.
The defence channel has been developing for some time. Ukraine's Defence Ministry said in October 2024 that the two governments had signed an intergovernmental document on quality assurance for defence goods and services, describing it as part of deeper defence industry cooperation with Türkiye.
The financing track is more difficult. Dzhelialov said Ukraine expects support for Kyiv to be discussed at the NATO Summit in Ankara, even though allies have not reached agreement on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal for each member to allocate 0.25 percent of gross domestic product to Ukraine.
NATO has already put Ukraine support on the summit path. Secretary General Mark Rutte said on 20 May that ministers would discuss how to keep assistance for Ukraine "substantial, sustainable, and predictable," calling it one of the priorities for Ankara. NATO also confirmed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joined allied foreign ministers in Helsingborg on 22 May as summit preparations continued.
The Ankara summit will take place at the Presidential Complex on 7-8 July. NATO announced Türkiye as host in August 2025, and the meeting has since become a focal point for alliance debates over Ukraine support, defence spending and the balance between European military capacity and US priorities.
Türkiye is not only the host. Ankara has kept working channels open with Kyiv and Moscow, while Turkish defence industry capacity has become more important as Ukraine looks for partners able to move from delivery to production, training and technology cooperation.
Bosphorus News has previously examined how the Ankara summit is placing Türkiye's defence industry and NATO role under closer alliance attention. The Ukrainian drone proposal adds a sharper layer to that file, tying Kyiv's battlefield requirements to Türkiye's production base before NATO leaders meet in July.
Dzhelialov also said Ukraine remains ready for leader-level talks with Russia and described Türkiye as the most suitable mechanism because it has hosted previous talks and maintains relations with both sides.
That leaves Ankara carrying three Ukraine files before the NATO summit: funding that allies have not yet agreed on, a drone cooperation offer built around Türkiye's production capacity, and a diplomatic channel Kyiv still sees as usable for talks with Moscow.