NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will pay a two-day visit to Türkiye on April 21 and 22 to hold talks with top Turkish government officials ahead of a key summit of the alliance leaders in July in the Turkish capital.
According to a statement from NATO, the secretary-general will be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the presidential compound. The NATO chief will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler. He will also visit a defense industrial facility near Ankara, read the statement.
Rutte’s visit comes as the alliance is getting prepared for the Ankara Summit to take place on July 7 and 8.
The secretary-general and the Turkish officials are expected to hold comprehensive talks over the decisions to be taken at the summit.
Erdoğan, in his address at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) on April 17, noted that Ankara will host the alliance in July and expressed his hopes that the leaders “will make significant decisions at the Summit that will carry the Alliance strongly into the future.”
Fidan, in an interview last week, described the upcoming summit in Ankara as one of the most significant gatherings of the 32 allied nations due to mounting geopolitical crises and uncertainties in the world.
One of the top issues to be discussed at the summit will be growing rupture between the United States and the rest of the alliance and Türkiye’s priority will be underscoring the importance of unity and solidarity of NATO, the minister said.
“NATO countries should turn [Ankara Summit] into an opportunity in terms of creating a systematic relationship with the U.S.,” he stated.
The summit will also recall the commitments of the allies regarding burden sharing among the allies and meeting the 5 percent requirement as approved in the Hague Summit last year, according to the diplomats.
Talks in Ankara between Rutte and the Turkish officials will also review recent developments in the Middle East and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Ankara, meanwhile, stepped up its preparations for the upcoming summit, with extensive security operations now in full swing.
Authorities are conducting meticulous work across areas where leaders will travel, stay and hold meetings, including designated routes, hotels and venues, local media reports earlier said.
Security and emergency response plans are being developed in detail, while special measures will be implemented both from the air and on the ground throughout the capital. Certain roads will be closed to traffic on security grounds, and during the period, all public gatherings, including events, protests, demonstrations and marches, will be prohibited.
