NATO chief to visit Turkey on April 20

ANKARA

AP photo

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will pay a two-day visit to Turkey on April 20-21, with a view to discussing preparations for the Warsaw Summit to be held in July, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced.

Stoltenberg will hold talks with both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, as well as with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, the ministry said in a written statement on April 19. 

“At these meetings, in addition to the preparations for the Warsaw Summit, challenges emanating from the security situation on NATO’s southeastern border, as well as the implementation of Alliance’s assurance measures for Turkey, will be addressed. In this framework, it is expected that views will be exchanged on issues stemming from the Middle East and North Africa, primarily Iraq, Syria and DEASH [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL], and NATO’s activity in the Aegean Sea,” the ministry added.