The Secretary General of NATO was received in Ankara by the Turkish president.
Present at the meeting, which lasted about an hour, were the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Hakan Fidan and Yasar Guler. While there followed a separate meeting of the secretary general with the minister of foreign affairs.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, in view of the assumption of the presidency of the United States by Donald Trump. The Turkish leadership, on the other hand, claims a mediating role to end the war.
Turkey’s position on the war in Ukraine
On Sunday, President Erdogan had , Vladimir Putin.
A few days ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that “Ukraine’s ballistic missile attack on Russia poses a great risk».
The Kurdish issue and the situation in the Middle East
During Rute’s meetings in Ankara, the Turkish side also raised the issue of the Syrian Kurds, who are supported by the US. Turkey, for its part, identifies them with the PKK organization and terrorism.
The war in the Middle East was also discussed. Ankara also called, once again, for the lifting of restrictions on the sale of defense equipment from some allied countries.
Turkey’s announcement about the meeting
«President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to the presidential palace.
During the meeting, issues such as the Ukraine-Russia war and what can be done to end the carnage experienced in Palestine, the joint steps to be taken to fight terrorism, the hosting of the NATO Summit by Turkey in 2026, the solidarity of NATO allies with Turkey in the supply of defense industry materials and Turkey’s contribution to NATO as ally.
During the meeting, President Erdogan thanked NATO Secretary General Rutte for his messages of solidarity with Turkey following the terrorist attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI)».
It is recalled that Ankara supported Rutte’s candidacy for the post of NATO Secretary General. In his statements regarding Turkey. Turkey was among his first three destinations in the cycle of his first official visits that began with the United States and Britain.
