NATO Chief Mark Rutte To Travel To Türkiye

2026-04-20 03:10:11

(MENAFN- AzerNews) Akbar Novruz Read more

NATO announced on Monday that its Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Türkiye on April 21 and 22. He will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, AzerNEWS reports.

Rutte's visit comes amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and Türkiye's repeated criticism of Israel.

He is also likely to discuss the war in Ukraine, amid reports that Türkiye is working on hosting another round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at restarting the peace process.

The visit follows the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), where NATO Deputy Secretary General Shekerinska confirmed Türkiye's growing role in the alliance, including the deployment of Turkish aircraft to Estonia for air patrols in the second half of 2026.

NATO has repeatedly cited Türkiye as having the alliance's second-largest army and as one of its most significant defense industry contributors.

MENAFN20042026000195011045ID1111007066

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.