The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in Ankara for the 36th NATO Summit, held today and tomorrow, with no meeting scheduled with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, according to the Greek side.
Mitsotakis is leading the Greek delegation, accompanied by Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, as leaders and delegations continue to arrive in the Turkish capital amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
The central focus of the summit is the assessment of progress by allies in implementing the commitment to defence spending amounting to 5% of GDP annually by 2035. This includes 3.5% for strictly military expenditure and a further 1.5% for broader investment in security and defence, such as dual-use infrastructure, strengthening the defence industry and resilience measures.
According to the programme of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gerapetritis is due to participate on Tuesday in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers with their counterparts from the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative countries: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
He will also attend a working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council and is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
The Greek leadership attends the summit in the knowledge that Greece is among the allies already at the forefront of meeting the targets agreed at the Hague summit.
Proceedings begin on Tuesday evening with a dinner hosted in honour of NATO leaders by President Erdogan and his spouse.
Source: CNA
