US President Donald Trump has told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that he plans to attend a NATO summit in Ankara in July, Middle East Eye reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the conversations.
Trump made the remark during a May 20 phone call with Erdoğan, according to the report.
The White House has not publicly confirmed the trip.
NATO says the summit will be held July 7 and 8 at Turkey’s presidential complex in Ankara.
Reuters reported after the May 20 call that Erdoğan told Trump Turkey was continuing preparations for the summit and working to ensure the meeting’s success.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said over the weekend that Erdoğan had spoken with Trump several times in the past month and that Trump had not indicated he would skip the summit, Middle East Eye reported.
The report said Ankara expects Trump to attend but that officials cautioned no final decision had been made.
The Ankara summit is expected to attract attention because Trump has questioned the value of NATO and has sent mixed signals on the US military presence in Europe.
Middle East Eye cited European officials as saying the summit could be one of the alliance’s most important meetings in decades because of uncertainty over Washington’s future role in European security.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European leaders are expected to use the summit to press Trump on the importance of the alliance, according to the report.
The outlet also reported that Erdoğan may seek to meet with Trump in Los Angeles during a Turkey-US World Cup match scheduled for June 25 but said no decision had been made on such a visit.
Turkey will host the NATO summit for the second time after hosting alliance leaders in İstanbul in 2004.