ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he would “most likely” hold bilateral talks with Donald Trump when the US president comes to Ankara for a NATO summit next month.
Turkey will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the alliance’s partners in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8 amid tensions within the alliance over burden-sharing, defence spending, and US complaints over allies’ involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz during the US.-Iran war.
Erdogan has previously said Trump’s attendance at the summit was important to show unity within the alliance.
Asked by reporters in parliament if the two leaders planned to meet separately outside of the summit on July 7-8, he said “it will most likely happen,” but did not elaborate.
The two leaders have forged a close relationship since Trump returned to the White House in 2024, increasing cooperation on a range of regional issues and resolving some outstanding disputes like Turkish state lender Halkbank’s sanctions-evasion case.
