U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will attend the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara out of respect for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
U.S. President Donald Trump answered questions on current issues during a press conference held with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. Trump evaluated the U.S.-Iran negotiations and the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara. Stating that Turkey is not involved in the Iran war and that he is pleased with this, Trump said, “Erdoğan is a great leader, a very strong person, his army is also great. He loves Turkey and is doing a great job, he is a respectable man, a respectable leader, and he is my friend.”
Trump noted that Turkey holds a very important position, especially in terms of the defense industry, saying, “Turkey has a massive defense industry base. It has 3,000 companies operating throughout the NATO alliance, including the U.S. It is so strong that people do not know how big Turkey is militarily. Thanks to Erdoğan, Turkey has a very strong army.”
CRITICISM OF GERMANY, THE UK, AND SPAIN
Criticizing Germany, the UK, and Spain, Trump said, “Spain is a complete disaster, terrible. They don’t want to pay anything. Spain is not a good alliance member. The UK is dying; they should open the North Sea to oil exploration. All I want from NATO is loyalty. We have 50,000 soldiers in Germany, we want a small gesture, and they immediately say 'We can't do that.'”
NATO Secretary General Rutte also stated that the NATO Summit to be hosted by Turkey is very important for the alliance and that President Erdoğan will be pleased to host the leaders of member countries.
