Istanbul rocked by mass protests over NATO summit
Photo: Turkish police (Getty Images)
In Istanbul, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the NATO summit in Ankara. One of the participants in the rally stated that the demonstrators are opposed to holding the Alliance's meeting in Türkiye, according to AP.
Multi-thousand-person rally took place in Istanbul
In the center of Istanbul, thousands of people took part in a demonstration against the NATO Summit, which is taking place in Ankara.
Representatives of left-wing movements, pro-Palestinian organizations, and Kurdish political forces joined the action.
The column of protesters marched through the city's central streets. During the march, participants chanted anti-American slogans, including: "Killers, USA, get out of our country."
What the rally participants said
One of the rally participants, 21-year-old Ali Gültekin, explained that the demonstrators are opposed to holding the NATO summit on Turkish territory.
"We are here to protest the hosting in Ankara — at a cost of millions of dollars — of NATO, an organization we regard as a massacre machine established to preserve global hegemony," he said.
The action took place against the backdrop of the NATO summit in the Turkish capital, which has sparked protest demonstrations in the country's largest city.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that one of the key topics of his negotiations with the US president at the summit in Turkey would be strengthening Ukrainian air defense. According to the head of state, the discussions will focus on the supply of Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, which Ukraine needs to protect against Russian ballistic missiles.
