Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for a two-day NATO summit, where she was greeted by Turkey's family minister and Italy's ambassador before a dinner hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for allied leaders.
The summit has been overshadowed by a wave of arrests across Turkey, with police detaining hundreds of activists, students, union members, and journalists in recent days. Authorities deployed more than 56,000 officers and banned all public gatherings from late June through 10 July. Dozens of Turkish journalists were denied summit accreditation over alleged opposition ties, while a stand-up comedian was arrested for insulting Erdoğan.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte briefly addressed the media restrictions, saying democracy "also means free media." NATO said accreditation decisions were based on Turkish government vetting.