Germany opposes holding NATO 2018 summit in Turkey

Several NATO countries – led by Germany, France, Netherlands and Denmark, are strictly opposing for the NATO 2018 summit to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, Die Welt newspaper reported. Die Welt reminded that during the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested to hold the next two summits in Istanbul. And although no official decision was made in this regard, it was assumed that the invitation would be accepted.

Now, however, according to Die Welt, a drastic change of stance is expected. “We don’t want an impression to be created as if NATO is defending the domestic policy of Turkey’s government,” Die Welt quoted a diplomatic source familiar with the situation as saying.

The abovementioned NATO countries have suggested to hold the summit in Brussels – Belgium is ready to host the meeting on its territory. The official decision will presumably be made during the upcoming NATO defense ministerial meeting in June