ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US President Donald Trump is set to depart for Ankara to attend the NATO summit, where he is also expected to meet with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, a White House spokesperson said.

White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly told reporters Trump will leave for Ankara Monday evening and arrive on Tuesday afternoon, where he will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding that he will also meet with Syria’s Sharaa to discuss bilateral relations.

Turkish state media also confirmed the visit and meeting with Sharaa for the second time since his Washington visit in November.

In November, Sharaa met with Trump at the White House, after Washington temporarily suspended key Caesar Act sanctions on Damascus, as Syria joined the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) shortly after.

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 was a US sanctions system that targeted the Syrian government and those involved in business with Damascus, cutting the country off from the global economy. The law was enacted during the rule of the deposed Baathist regime under Bashar al-Assad. 

The meeting marked the first time a Syrian leader visited the White House since Syria’s independence in 1946, marking a seminal moment for Sharaa, whose political life has traversed from his origins as an al-Qaeda fighter in Iraq to the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized power in Damascus after ousting Assad in December, to his current role as president.

The 2026 NATO summit hosted by Ankara has three main topics on the agenda: Defense investment, defense industry, and support for Ukraine.

“Increased investment, industrial production and continued support for Ukraine. All of this contributes to a stronger NATO and greater security for all of us,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was quoted as saying on the organization’s website.

Trump will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday and hold a presser before departing the country, according to Kelly.