NATO to mark alliance’s 70th anniversary in London

ANKARA

NATO leaders on Tuesday will meet in London to mark the alliance’s 70th anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth will host the heads of state and government at Buckingham Palace for a reception and celebrate the alliance’s 70th anniversary.

The leaders then will be hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street over a dinner.

The leaders of NATO’s 29 member states including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are attending the summit.

The leaders will "address current security issues and take decisions to ensure that NATO remains fit for the future," said a NATO statement on Tuesday.

"They are expected to agree on a number of measures, including further improvements to the readiness of Allied forces, recognizing space as an operational domain, and updating NATO’s action plan against terrorism," said the statement.

"Leaders are also due to have a strategic discussion on Russia, the future of arms control, as well as the rise of China," it added.

Erdogan left for London early Tuesday and will hold quartet Syria summit with Macron, Merkel, and Johnson at 10 Downing Street later in the day.