Erdoğan starts NATO summit diplomacy

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet on July 6 with NATO chief Mark Rutte as he holds talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev ahead of the opening of a two-day NATO summit in Ankara.

Although Rutte will formally open the summit later in the day, the meeting period marking the start of the July 7–8 gathering is scheduled to begin earlier with bilateral engagements between key participants.

Erdoğan is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with world leaders during the summit, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and European Council President António Costa.

A joint news conference is expected to follow the Turkish president’s meeting with Trump on July 7. Trump is set to attend a leaders’ dinner the same day and join formal summit sessions on July 8.

The White House said Trump plans additional meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on July 8. U.S. officials said the talks with Zelensky will focus on efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Turkish authorities have tightened security across Ankara ahead of the summit, deploying more than 56,000 personnel. Officials said around 3,000 journalists and media workers have applied for accreditation to cover the event.