Turkish President Erdogan receives Italy's Meloni in Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday received Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the capital, Ankara.

The closed-door meeting at the presidential complex came on the second day of the NATO summit.

The two leaders discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said.

Erdogan said Türkiye and Italy should continue working to deepen cooperation in a range of areas, particularly the defense industry, investment, energy and trade.

The Turkish president also reiterated Ankara's expectations regarding its long-standing bid to join the EU.

"Türkiye no longer wants to discuss obstacles with the European Union, but rather the removal of the final hurdles standing in the way of our membership," Erdogan said during the meeting, according to the statement.

On European security, Erdogan stressed that NATO's European pillar should be strengthened and said Türkiye supports the EU's defense initiatives, provided they are based on NATO.

He said Ankara would continue to back EU efforts to reinforce European defense as long as they complement the alliance's framework.

The two leaders also discussed Libya, with Erdogan highlighting the importance of the Quadrilateral Cooperation Process launched by Türkiye, Italy, Qatar and Libya.

He said the four-party mechanism remains an important platform for promoting stability in Libya and that work under the initiative will continue.

Erdogan invited Meloni to attend the COP31 Leaders' Summit, which is scheduled to be held in the southern Turkish city of Antalya in November.

The summit in Ankara is bringing together leaders of the 32-member alliance as well as key partners to discuss Europe’s defense capacity, the alliance’s defense spending targets, military modernization, and continued support for Ukraine.

Türkiye – a member of NATO for nearly 75 years – joined the alliance in 1952.