Turkish communications director says Ankara NATO summit will shape alliance's future

Turkish Communications Director Burhanettin Duran on Monday said that the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara will be critical for both the alliance's future and the evolving global security architecture.

Speaking to journalists at the International Media Center ahead of the July 7-8 summit, Duran said the gathering, which has been described under the concept of "NATO 3.0," would address key strategic issues.

"This summit, which has come to the fore under the concept of NATO 3.0, is very important. Very important issues will be discussed in Ankara, both for NATO's future and for how the global architecture will be shaped," Duran said.

Duran said the summit is expected to attract the highest-level participation ever at the level of heads of state and government, alongside numerous bilateral meetings.

He said more than 2,500 media representatives will cover the event from the Presidential National Library, where facilities include workspaces, live broadcast positions, and editing rooms.

Turkish president's bilateral meetings with NATO leaders

Asked about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bilateral meetings, Duran said NATO leaders are expected to discuss strengthening the transatlantic alliance, European security, and defense spending, while bilateral talks will also focus on country-specific issues.

"In addition, there will be bilateral meetings. Bilateral meetings generally focus on countries' own bilateral agendas. However, since they are being held on the sidelines of NATO, issues such as defense and security, Europe's future, and strengthening Europe's security will also be on the agenda. Defense spending will also be discussed," he said.

"Countries' bilateral agendas are naturally unique to each of them, so each meeting should be assessed separately. But from this perspective, the summit will provide a platform both for shaping NATO's future and for countries to review their bilateral relations. Our president will hold numerous bilateral meetings and will evaluate various agenda items within those meetings," Duran added.

On Erdogan's planned meeting with US President Donald Trump, Duran said discussions are expected to cover a wide range of bilateral issues in addition to the NATO agenda.

"The meeting between our president and President Trump effectively has two important agendas: the NATO summit and President Trump's state visit. Therefore, we attach great importance to this visit," he said.

"There are many bilateral issues that have been discussed during the frequent phone calls between our president and President Trump. You already know some of them. One is the issue of the KAAN fighter jet engines. Previously there was the Halkbank issue. There are also other matters that Türkiye and the United States are pursuing within the framework of defense and security cooperation. Therefore, all of these are expected to be on the agenda."

"In addition, our trade agenda with the United States is important. All of these issues will be discussed," Duran said.