Leaders of 30 NATO member states, including Türkiye, will meet tomorrow in order to discuss the situation that emerged in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine and NATO's long-term stance on Eastern Europe.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is also to attend the NATO Leaders Summit, which will be held in the NATO headquarters in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to address the summit via teleconference and call on NATO to supply air defence equipment and establish a no-fly zone.
The developments following Russia's attack on Ukraine would be on the leaders' agenda at the extraordinary summit.
"We will address the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence in response to a new reality for our security," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during the press conference where he announced the summit.
NATO has begun to increase its presence in eastern Europe in response to Russia's military build-up on the Ukrainian border since November 2021. These moves have accelerated since Russia launched an attack on Ukraine on February 24.
Reinforcements were made, in particular, to multinational combat units in the Baltic states and Poland. In addition, a large number of warplanes and warships were dispatched to the region. Troops were also deployed in Romania, where no NATO combat units had previously been deployed.
According to information provided by Stoltenberg two weeks ago, NATO has 130 jets at high alert, 200 ships from the far north to the Mediterranean, and thousands of additional soldiers in and near eastern Europe as part of the measures taken against Russia.
Following the tensions with Russia, NATO mobilized the Response Force for the first time in its history. Finally, on March 16, the NATO Defence Ministers Meeting discussed the alliance's long-term positioning in Eastern Europe.