President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the margins of the NATO Summit in Ankara.
According to a statement from the Turkish Presidency's Communications Directorate, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations as well as regional developments during the meeting.
Erdoğan stressed the importance of further strengthening cooperation between Turkey and Italy in defense industry, energy, trade, and investment.
Touching on Libya, President Erdoğan noted that the quadrilateral cooperation model between Turkey, Italy, Qatar, and Libya is an important mechanism, and said that efforts in this direction would continue.
Regarding the European Union accession process, Erdoğan stated that the focus should be on removing the final restrictions on membership rather than obstacles in the negotiations.
Saying that strengthening NATO's European pillar is essential, Erdoğan announced that Turkey would support the EU's efforts in this area if they are based on the alliance framework.
At the end of the meeting, President Erdoğan invited Italian Prime Minister Meloni to attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) Leaders Summit to be held in Antalya in November.