Erdogan pulls out of European summit

A massive gathering of European leaders on June 1 has suffered its first high-profile casualty, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulling out at the last minute, Report informs referring to Politico.

The Turkish leader, who won five more years at the helm of his country in second-round elections on May 28, will not travel to Moldova for the one-day summit, according to three officials involved in the preparations.

The so-called European Political Community (EPC) - a new collective launched in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine - is meant to draw together European leaders beyond the EU. More than 40 European leaders are invited to the event to be held on June 1, including those from all 27 EU countries plus non-EU countries like Britain and Türkiye, as well as the Western Balkan nations.

The gathering, set to take place outside Chișinău, Moldova’s capital, is the second summit held under the EPC banner, following an inaugural meeting in Prague last October.