President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a series of bilateral meetings with Balkan leaders on Thursday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, focusing on defense cooperation, regional stability, trade and Europe's security architecture.

Erdoğan met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic during the second day of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, hosted by Türkiye.

According to the Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan and Rama discussed bilateral ties and regional issues as NATO leaders gathered in the Turkish capital for alliance talks. The meeting at the Presidential Complex was attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın, AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and senior presidential adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç.

The Ankara gathering marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye after the alliance's 2004 summit in Istanbul. The meeting has also served as a platform for bilateral talks between allied and partner countries on political, security and economic cooperation.

During his meeting with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Erdoğan said strengthening NATO's European pillar remains important and stressed that European Union defense initiatives should complement the alliance, according to the directorate.

The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in trade, investment, energy and transportation. Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye's efforts to support diplomatic solutions to the wars in Ukraine and Iran, while emphasizing Ankara's continued push to help end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and promote regional stability.

In talks with Spajic, Erdoğan said Türkiye was committed to further deepening bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade, investment, tourism, the defense industry and security.

Erdoğan also welcomed the role of the Balkan Peace Platform, launched under Türkiye's initiative, describing it as an important mechanism for addressing issues including border security, energy and transportation across the region. He said he expected the platform to contribute to lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans.

Türkiye, which joined NATO in 1952, used the Ankara summit to reinforce its role within the alliance while advancing bilateral ties with regional partners through a series of high-level diplomatic engagements.