Trump Arrives in Turkish Capital for NATO Summit

(CNA Ankara July 7 comprehensive foreign reports) U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Turkey's capital, Ankara, today to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, where leaders hope to gain Trump's support with defense spending commitments.

According to Agence France-Presse, before the main session of the summit tomorrow, Trump is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace and then attend the official leaders' dinner.

Trump, on his first overseas trip aboard his new Air Force One presidential aircraft gifted by Qatar, arrived at 1:51 PM local time (10:51 AM GMT), and was greeted on the tarmac by Erdogan and the Presidential Guard.

This is Trump's first official visit to Ankara as president.

Reuters reported that two sources familiar with the matter said earlier today that Trump is expected to express support for the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey during his visit to Ankara, despite legal and congressional obstacles not yet being fully cleared.

Trump later publicly stated that Washington would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

Prior to Trump's arrival, NATO allies sought to demonstrate significant increases in defense spending and signed new arms contracts worth billions of dollars, in an effort to appease Trump, who was dissatisfied with Europe's response to the Iran war.

Trump told reporters today during his meeting with Erdogan that he was "very disappointed" with the response of NATO allies in Europe to the Iran war.

A year before the start of the two-day summit, NATO members, under pressure from Trump, pledged to increase security-related spending to 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP).

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized that European countries are fulfilling their commitments by increasing military budgets and moving towards taking more responsibility for European defense in the face of Russian threats. (Compiled by Yang Zhaoyan) 1150707

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