Erdogan and Mark Rutte discuss collective security challenges

AA / Istanbul / Yasin Gungor

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed “growing challenges” to the alliance’s collective security on Monday.

Meeting in the capital Ankara, the two leaders discussed “the terrorist threat, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East”, declared Mark Rutte on the social network X.

“In an increasingly unpredictable world, Türkiye makes an invaluable contribution to NATO,” he stressed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler also attended the meeting held at the Ankara Presidential Complex.

It was Mark Rutte’s first visit to Türkiye since he took office last month, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, Hakan Fidan held a one-on-one meeting with the NATO Secretary General, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced.

Mark Rutte, former Dutch Prime Minister, became NATO’s 14th Secretary General in October, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg.

Türkiye has been a member of the Atlantic Alliance since 1952, more than 70 years.

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