US President Donald Trump plans to attend the NATO summit scheduled to be held in Ankara on July 7-8, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
Asked about whether Trump would attend the NATO summit in Ankara during an interview with Bloomberg TV during a visit to Singapore on Monday, Fidan replied: “As far as we know, yes, he plans to attend.”
He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Trump several times by phone last month and that the US president indicated on each occasion that he would participate in the summit.
Stressing that the US remains committed to the alliance despite political rhetoric, Fidan said there are no signs that Washington intends to act on warnings that it could withdraw from NATO.
“The US is constantly pressing allies to increase defence spending and take greater responsibility for their own security,” he stated, pointing out:
“Europeans have received the message and have already taken steps to increase defence budgets within NATO.”
“When leaders come together, we will review the progress achieved,” he said.
