Turkish president welcomes Lebanese premier with official ceremony

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday welcomed Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati with an official ceremony in Ankara.

Erdoğan greeted Mikati at the main entrance of the Presidential Complex.

The ceremony included a 21-gun salute and featured soldiers carrying the flags of 16 historical Turkish states.

The leaders posed for photographers, shaking hands in front of the Turkish and Lebanese flags.

Erdoğan and Mikati headed for bilateral and delegation-level meetings before a joint press conference.

Erdoğan will also host an official dinner in Mikati's honor later in the evening.

Senior Turkish officials who attended the ceremony included Environment Minister Murat Kurum, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization chief İbrahim Kalın, and Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin.

On Tuesday, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun announced the meeting between the two leaders.

On X, Altun confirmed that the meeting will take place in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday and that the discussions will focus on bilateral relations and developments in Palestine and Syria amid continued attacks and incursions by Israeli forces.