Turkish President Erdogan, German Chancellor Merz meet in Ankara for talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday received German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the capital Ankara.

The closed-door talks at the presidential complex came on the second day of the NATO summit.

The meeting in Ankara brought together leaders of the 32-member alliance as well as key partners to discuss Europe’s defense capacity, the alliance’s defense spending targets, military modernization, and continued support for Ukraine.

The Ankara meeting marked the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 Istanbul summit. The gathering also provided a platform for bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied countries on political, security and economic cooperation.