Turkish Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran said Thursday that the NATO summit held in Ankara showed Türkiye’s active role under the leadership of its president in enhancing international peace and security.
“The intensive diplomatic engagements carried out since Monday as part of the NATO Ankara Summit have once again demonstrated Türkiye’s active role, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in strengthening international peace, security and stability,” Duran wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Underlining that Erdogan conveyed important messages with his addresses at the summit, Duran noted that he met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He said the parties comprehensively discussed the development of bilateral relations, strengthening cooperation in the defense industry, trade, security and the European security architecture as well as regional and global developments.
“Our President once again underlined Türkiye’s contributions to Europe’s security and emphasized the importance it attaches to strengthening NATO’s European pillar and preserving the ‘Transatlantic Bond,'” Duran added.
He said that ensuring a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, ending the Russia-Ukraine war through diplomacy, preserving the understanding reached between Iran and the US, and establishing stability in Syria were among the prominent topics of the meetings.
Duran also described the signing of the Security and Defense Partnership Agreement between Türkiye and the UK as “an important step toward strengthening strategic cooperation.”
He recalled Erdogan’s remarks during the summit’s press conference where he had stressed that Türkiye would continue, with determination, its active diplomacy and cooperation with its allies in line with its understanding of peace, stability and shared security.
Duran further said that Erdogan also met Thursday with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. He said they discussed opportunities to enhance bilateral relations and cooperation in the fields of trade, defense, security and energy.