NATO Summit | Erdoğan meets Macron, Johnson and Merkel

The NATO Leaders' Summit has begun in Brussels, Belgium. US President Joe Biden and President of Turkey Erdoğan will have their first face-to-face meeting since Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021.

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NATO Summit | Erdoğan meets Macron, Johnson and Merkel

* Photos: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Leaders' Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began in Belgium's capital city of Brussels today (June 14).

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Boris Johnson and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel before the NATO summit.

Erdoğan and the delegation accompanying him arrived at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels in the afternoon. Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar and ruling AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik accompanied President Erdoğan.

Macron: A long meeting

Erdoğan first met France's President Emmanuel Macron. Reuters News Agency has reported that in the 52-minute closed-door meeting between the two, "French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Monday discussed the need to work together on tackling problems in Syria and Libya, Macron's office said."

Macron also tweeted, "Ahead of NATO summit, I had a long one-to-one meeting with President Erdogan. For clarity, respect and request."

He met Johnson and Merkel

After his meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Erdoğan met with Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, ruling AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, Presidency's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidency's Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, NATO Parliamentary Assembly Turkey Group Head Osman Aşkın Bak also attended the closed-door meeting.

Afterwards, Erdoğan met with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. The closed-door meeting between the two lasted for half an hour.

Biden and Erdoğan side by side

The leaders of 30 member countries were welcomed one by one by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meeting. A traditional family photo was taken with the leaders following social distancing rules. Erdoğan posed between US President Joe Biden and Boris Johnson.

The leaders then attended the main session of the summit. Erdoğan and Biden had a brief talk before the meeting. The two leaders will meet in person for the first time since January 20, when Biden took office as the US President. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. local time in Turkey.