NATO summit in Ankara should reaffirm alliance's unity, Turkey to tell allies

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan ​will tell NATO foreign ministers ​this week that the next ‌NATO leaders' ​summit, set for Ankara in July, should reaffirm the alliance's unity and integrity, a foreign ministry source ‌said on Wednesday. * Fidan will attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday and Friday in Sweden's Helsingborg.

* Turkey will host the next ‌NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on July 7-8. * During the meeting of ‌NATO foreign ministers, Fidan will share Turkey's expectations regarding the Ankara summit and brief allied countries on Turkey's efforts to ensure that it serves as a high-level event reaffirming the ⁠NATO's ​unity and integrity, the ⁠source said.

* Fidan will also provide information on Turkey's contributions to NATO and highlight "Turkey's best ⁠practices regarding the conversion of defence expenditure into capabilities". * Fidan will emphasise the need ​to develop transatlantic defence industry cooperation within NATO without any restrictions.

* A separate ⁠Turkish diplomatic source said members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), a partnership forum with several Middle ⁠Eastern ​countries, as well as Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia -- known as the Indo-Pacific Four -- may be invited to the Ankara summit ⁠at the foreign minister level. * The source said that all NATO allies will ⁠agree in ⁠the coming days on the summit invitees and the issue may be discussed at the meeting in Sweden.

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