Turkish President Erdogan, NATO chief discuss summit agenda, regional issues in Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara on Monday, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said.

The meeting, held after Rutte arrived in Ankara for a NATO leaders summit set to start Tuesday, addressed the agenda of the Ankara summit as well as regional and global developments, the directorate said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

Erdogan said he hoped the summit hosted by Türkiye would bring positive results and stressed that Ankara has completed its preparations.

He said it would be important for the summit to address a range of issues, from collective defense to strengthening defense industry cooperation among allies.

Erdogan also said he believed the Defense Industry Forum to be held as part of the summit would be closely followed.