The Greek delegation is in Ankara for the 36th NATO Summit, which is taking place on July 7 and 8 and is being hosted by Turkey, led by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is accompanied by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis. 

It should be noted that, according to Greek reports, no meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled on the sidelines of the summit.

Turkish media report that leaders and delegations continue to arrive in the Turkish capital, where the Summit is taking place amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, with the primary objective of strengthening the Alliance’s collective defense.

According to the schedule released by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gerapetritis will participate today, Tuesday, in a meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO member states with their counterparts from the countries of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative—namely, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Mr. Gerapetritis will also attend a working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and on the sidelines of the Summit, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

The central theme of the Summit is to assess the allies’ progress in fulfilling their commitment to spend 5% of GDP annually on defense by 2035. This commitment calls for 3.5% for purely military spending and an additional 1.5% for broader investments in security and defense, such as dual-use infrastructure, strengthening the defense industry, and resilience measures.

Athens is approaching the Summit by arguing that Greece is at the forefront of Alliance countries that are already implementing the targets agreed upon at the Hague Summit.

The summit’s program begins on Tuesday evening with a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife in honor of the NATO leaders. 

Source: CNA