Ankara.- United States President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara this Tuesday to participate in the 36th NATO leaders’ summit, marked by plans to increase allied investment in defense and support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion.
According to local media, the president’s plane landed around 1:50 PM local time (10:50 GMT) at a military airport in the Turkish capital, where he was received by Turkish President, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before being taken to the presidential complex in Ankara where the summit is being held between today and tomorrow.
It is the first time in 17 years that a United States president has visited Turkey, since former president Barack Obama in 2009.
According to local press, the fact that Erdogan traveled to the airport is unusual, as the Turkish leader usually waits for his state guests at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.
Turkey calls for the removal of restrictions on arms cooperation
In the hours leading up to the opening of the meeting, Turkey warned that “restrictions on cooperation” in the arms industry “undermine the efficiency” of the Alliance, and demanded that European initiatives in this area be “fully inclusive of all allies.”
We recommend reading: Trump will build a helipad at the White House to operate the new Marine One presidential fleet
“The stage is set in Ankara (…) Turkey is prepared to welcome NATO members at a time that will define the future of the Alliance,” stated Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a statement published today on his social media.
More Read
After noting that the threats facing the organization have become “faster and more complex,” the head of Turkish diplomacy considered it “essential” that the European contribution to collective defense be increased.
“But restrictions on cooperation between defense industries undermine efficiency and slow down the response. European defense initiatives must remain fully inclusive for all NATO allies,” he warned.
Arrests of activists and journalists continue
Meanwhile, the Turkish police continue to carry out arrests among protesters demonstrating in Ankara against NATO; arrests that add to hundreds of others in recent days, amidst a wave of repression ahead of the 36th Atlantic Alliance summit.
More Read
According to the independent newspaper Cumhuriyet, an unspecified number of people gathered at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT) in Kurtulus Park in the capital, called by the ‘No to NATO Coordinator’ platform and defying the ban on demonstrations in effect in Ankara until next Friday.
Eyewitnesses cited by the newspaper said that the police intervened with riot shields, surrounded the protesters, and forced the journalists present to move away from the scene to prevent them from filming the operation.
Among those detained are several leaders, deputies, and spokespersons of leftist parties and organizations.
On the other hand, the newspaper BirGün reported this Tuesday that its editor, Kayhan Ayhan, who has covered the court hearings of the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul, the social democrat Ekrem İmamoglu, was arrested last night at his home on charges of spreading “misleading information.”
Another journalist, Hazar Dost, was also arrested last night “for having attended a protest in 2018,” as revealed today by Dogu Eroglu, editor-in-chief of Ortak, who asserted that this is “one more case in the wave of arrests ahead of the NATO summit.”
