ANKARA: US President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, to attend the 36th summit of NATO, the world’s largest military alliance, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warmly welcomed him at the airport. The meeting is expected to discuss important issues related to the future of NATO, European security, defense spending of member countries and regional security.
Speaking to the media along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, US President Donald Trump said that President Erdogan is his close friend and that the US-Turkey relationship is very strong. Under President Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey has become a strong and influential country, however, many people in the world are still not fully aware of Turkey’s true military capabilities.
President Trump said that he had detailed discussions with President Erdogan on trade, bilateral relations, defense cooperation, the situation in Iran and other important regional issues. He said that he was sure that Turkey also wanted Iran to never acquire nuclear weapons.
Expressing his views on NATO, the US President said that he was disappointed with the alliance’s performance and had not actually intended to attend the meeting, but since it was being hosted by Turkey, he decided to attend. He said that the US spends billions of dollars on NATO so that allies can support it in difficult times, but when the US needed it, it did not receive the required cooperation.
Referring to the US operation against Iran, President Trump said that the US did not need any external assistance in this operation. He claimed that the US always played an important role in keeping Europe safe from Russia, while some allies only talked about cooperation after the end of the war.
Discussing Turkey’s defense issues, the US President said that important decisions will be made regarding the F-35 fighter jets. He made it clear that he has no concerns about the supply of F-35 aircraft to Turkey, while he has no objection to the purchase of Russian aircraft because every sovereign country has the right to make decisions according to its national interest.
Regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, President Trump expressed hope that progress will be made in resolving the Ukraine conflict and the war will come to an end soon.
Talking about the situation in the Middle East, the US President said that if Turkey wanted to, it could have joined the war against Israel, but according to him, it did not happen. He praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and said that he is working well and is trying to reunite a divided country.
President Trump added that the US does not want to impose sanctions on its friendly countries and prefers to solve regional problems through cooperation, diplomacy and negotiations.
It should be noted that a special reception ceremony was held at the Etimis Got Air Base upon the arrival of US President Donald Trump in Ankara. According to Turkish traditions, a turquoise carpet was laid instead of the red carpet, which is considered a symbol of Turkey’s cultural identity, while a Turkish honor guard saluted the US president. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself was present at the airport and welcomed his guest, which is being described as a symbol of the close relations between the two countries.
