When asked by Bloomberg about the US President's participation in the NATO summit in Ankara, Minister Fidan replied: “As far as we know, yes, he plans to participate.” He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Donald Trump several times by phone last month and that the US president each time signaled his participation in the summit.
The head of Turkish diplomacy emphasized that the United States remains committed to NATO. In his opinion, there are no signs that Washington intends to implement its threats to leave the Alliance.
“Europeans received the signal”
— The United States continues to pressure allies to increase defense spending and take greater responsibility for their own security, said Hakan Fidan. In his opinion, “Europeans have received this signal and have already taken steps to increase defense budgets.” “When the leaders meet, we will review the progress achieved,” the Turkish politician added.
Referring to the upcoming summit in Ankara, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated at the end of May that the priorities of the North Atlantic Alliance are: increasing defense spending, developing the arms industry and maintaining support for Ukraine.
