Trump to Visit Turkey

U.S. President Donald Trump said during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he will take part in the NATO summit, which will be held in Ankara in July, «just to please him».

Later, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasized that it was the holding of the summit in Turkey under Erdogan’s chairmanship that became the main factor convincing Trump to come to the meeting.

According to the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, many European countries acknowledge that without Turkey’s role and Erdogan personally, the American leader’s participation would have been unlikely. As noted in Ankara, this suggests Trump’s rather restrained attitude toward the event itself, despite his decision to attend the summit.

The NATO summit in Ankara could become one of the alliance’s most talked-about meetings, given Turkey’s growing role in international politics and the special relationship between Trump and Erdogan.