Turkish president attends NATO summit in Brussels

By Ilkay Guder and Serife Cetin

BRUSSELS (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the opening ceremony of the NATO summit at its headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

The two-day NATO summit started with the attendance of 29 NATO heads of state and government to make important decisions on the future of the alliance.

NATO Secretary Gen. Jens Stoltenberg hosted an official welcome ceremony for the leaders in the Agora area at the entrance of NATO Headquarters.

After the ceremony, 29 NATO heads of state and government also visited an exhibition on the organization’s history and activities along with Stoltenberg.

The summit is set to review steps to adapt NATO to current security threats, as well as exchange views on threats to Euro-Atlantic security, the Turkish presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a session held with the attendance of Georgia and Ukraine’s heads of state, improving relations between NATO and those countries will be discussed, it said.

Additionally, the matters pertaining to ongoing tension between the EU and the U.S., moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Iran and climate agreements are expected to be discussed in the summit.

The alliance is also expected to affirm its support to Afghanistan.

The summit will also affirm NATO’s “open-door policy” in the Euro-Atlantic region for peace and stability.

Erdogan is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on the summit's sidelines.

The summit will also discuss six major topics -- including strengthening deterrence and defense, counter-terrorism and stability, strengthening cooperation with the EU, modernization of NATO, sharing of responsibility and common values, and the transatlantic union.