Explosions rock Damascus, wounding 18, as French President Macron visits Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as France’s president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit, wounding at least 18 people, Syria's Interior Ministry said.

Emmanuel Macron had entered the presidential palace to meet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa when the explosions happened near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Syrian media report that the French president is staying.

An Elysee official said Macron was safe and that his meeting with al-Sharaa was continuing. He is the first major Western leader to visit Syria since al-Sharaa came to power and his visit comes before he heads to a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Macron’s whereabouts and security.

But the explosions are a blow for al-Sharaa, who came to power after leading an insurgency that ousted Bashar Assad in 2024.

He has since pushed to assert full control and bring stability in war-torn Syria, appeal to minorities skeptical of his Islamist-led rule, and win the support of Western governments who were skeptical of his past as leader of the formerly al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule.

Macron played a major role in pushing Europe and the United States to drop most sanctions on Syria. He arrived in the country Monday night with an economic delegation, and is scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding with his counterpart as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war.

The Interior Ministry in a statement reported by Syrian state media said that the two blasts in the heart of the capital were caused by explosive devices, one placed in a garbage bin and the other in a parked car. It added that four of the wounded were police officers, and no deaths were immediately reported. An investigation is currently taking place at the scene of the attack.

A large plume of smoke could be seen from the site. The area is on a busy street in Damascus and is near the headquarters of the Tourism Ministry and the Damascus National Museum.

Footage widely circulated on social media showed a van and a motorcycle on fire and blood stains on the street.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

The incident comes days after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the Justice Palace in Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 20.

While Syria’s new rulers have wrestled with violence involving different groups in the country as they work to assert control, the capital has largely been peaceful during the turbulent period.

The conflict in Syria killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions. Syria’s infrastructure lies in ruins, and while other nations and businesses have made large investment pledges, the country still needs hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild and lift millions out of poverty.

Before arriving at the presidential palace, Macron met with members of Syrian civil society, though his office did not give details on who.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report from Paris.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, center, shakes hands with Gen. Vincent Giraud, Macron's Chief of Staff, as French President Emmanuel Macron, right, as they meet in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — NATO on Tuesday showcased a series of military projects worth billions of dollars in an attempt to convince President Donald Trump that U.S. allies are converting fresh defense spending into real firepower.

“It’s money well spent,” an energized NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told government ministers and defense industry officials on the sidelines of a summit in Turkey. He was speaking at a defense industry forum billed as NATO’s “big reveal,” to the thrum of techno music and a slick video display.

Trump, who is slated to arrive in Ankara later Tuesday, has branded NATO a “paper tiger” that would cease to function without American arms and leadership.

NATO as an organization does not own any weapons — these are the property of the 32 member countries — but it does have a fleet of 14 AWACS early warning radar surveillance planes that are about 50 years old, along with some newer surveillance drones.

A deal to replace the aging planes was announced Tuesday. Swedish manufacturer Saab will be supplying up to 10 new GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for a 10-nation consortium, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced.

“It’s a moment of great pride,” he said, noting that the twin-engine aircraft would be “made within the alliance for all the alliance.”

Some of the projects will be paid for with funds from a system of cheap loans for defense purposes set up by the European Union, comprising up to $170 billion raised on capital markets.

“We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities, putting the cash to work from defense plans to drones, from money to missiles and interceptors,” Rutte said.

Representatives from 15 nations shook hands and patted shoulders on a vast podium under the NATO logo as they announced a multinational effort to buy air-to-air refueling and transport planes from Airbus.

Then Rutte announced a four-country effort to purchase as many as five new Triton surveillance drones to add to NATO’s small fleet.

“It is genuinely made in NATO, and creating jobs on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

Rutte told reporters on the eve of the military alliance’s two-day summit in Turkey that “we will announce tens of billions in new contracts that will provide the crucial kit we need to deter and defend.”

However, at Tuesday's event, no dollar figures were given and the display included some projects long since agreed.

The defense industry splash comes a few weeks after Rutte tried to ease U.S. concerns about military spending at NATO with a new pitch using a chart labeled the “The Trump Trillion” — showing $1.2 trillion in spending by European allies and Canada since 2017.

Far from being impressed, Trump appeared unmoved, saying he was still disappointed at some NATO allies’ refusal to join the Iran war, which he had launched alongside Israel without consulting them.

“We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything,” Trump said. “I just want loyalty.”

The summit is being held in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sprawling palace compound in Ankara and Trump has suggested he would come bearing gifts for the Turkish leader.

Speaking Monday on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, saying that Erdogan “calls openly for the annihilation of Israel.”

Turkey and Israel have acrimonious relations. Erdogan frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide in its war in Gaza, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

Turkey was barred from the F-35 program in 2019, after it purchased Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. However, Trump, who has warm relations with Erdogan, has hinted ahead of his planned visit to Ankara that the sales could soon resume.

Netanyahu said selling Turkey F-35s would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.”

Israel’s Air Force depends on hundreds of U.S. fighter jets, including F-35s, F-16s and F-15s.

The focus of the summit is a stronger Europe for a stronger NATO. The Trump administration has warned the allies that they must handle Europe’s security alone as the United States focuses on China and the Indo-Pacific region.

The Pentagon wants a reboot and is promoting what it calls “NATO 3.0,” a vision of the alliance in which Europe assumes greater responsibility for its own defense, freeing the U.S. to concentrate on other priorities.

But hiking defense spending means increasing taxes or diverting resources from other priorities. U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey unexpectedly quit last month, saying the British government was not willing to spend at a time of rising threats.

Concern is mounting among some northern and central eastern countries that Russia might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.

Keir Starmer’s office said the British leader will be “focused on building a stronger and more European NATO” on what is likely to be his last foreign trip as prime minister.

Starmer, who announced his resignation June 22, has faced criticism from military leaders, opposition politicians and some in his center-left party for the slow rate of increase in U.K. military spending.

His government has committed to reach the NATO budget target of spending 3.5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035 but does not have a concrete plan to get there. Its current spending plan will see that spending hit 2.7% of GDP by 2029.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

NATO banners in front of the Bestepe National Mosque ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, meets with Turkish Presidential Defense Industries Directorate Haluk Gorgun as he arrives ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Osmancan Gürdoğan, Pool Photo via AP)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference at the International Media Center ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal, center left, walks with Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, left, during airport arrivals ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Metin Aktas, Pool Photo via AP)

A Turkish flag and NATO banners cover buildings ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)