Turkish, Finnish presidents meet on sidelines of NATO summit in Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb in the capital Ankara on Tuesday.

The closed-door meeting at the presidential complex came as the two-day NATO summit kicked off.

Later Tuesday, Stubb will attend a dinner hosted by Erdoğan and first lady Emine Erdoğan in honor of the heads of state and government, and their spouses.

Finland became a full member of NATO in 2023.

NATO heads of state and government are meeting in Ankara for the alliance’s 2026 summit, which will focus on implementing the defense spending commitments agreed at last year’s summit in The Hague, sustaining military support for Ukraine and expanding defense industrial production.