Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Ankara for the NATO Leaders Summit on July 7-8. He will be accompanied by a delegation comprising approximately 1,400 individuals, including politicians, diplomats, military officials, and CIA staff.
As reported by Turkish outlet T24, this visit will be significant as it will be the first time a sitting US president has visited the Turkish capital in nearly 17 years.
The last visit by a sitting US president was when George W. Bush visited Ankara before the 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul. Although Barack Obama made a brief working visit in 2009, he did not return as president. Trump did not visit Turkey during his first term, and Joe Biden has not made the trip either.
However, beyond the historic nature of the visit, certain security measures have sparked interest.
Consistent with established protocol, the Secret Service will transport Trump’s personal toilet system to Ankara. This ensures that all waste produced by the president during his stay is collected and brought back to the United States, rather than entering local sewage systems.
This precaution is intended to prevent foreign intelligence agencies from conducting analysis on the president’s biological material.
This practice of retrieving waste by world leaders has a long history. Vladimir Putin, who according to some Kremlin-watchers might be dealing with cancer, reportedly employs a team to retrieve his waste during international travel.
Experts assert that stool samples can provide significant insights into a person’s health, including signs of chemotherapy treatment, and similar measures have reportedly been employed with other world leaders such as Mao Zedong, Hafez al-Assad, and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Trump’s presidential limousine will also be flown in from the US. Additionally, the Secret Service plans to deploy close-range security drones, although it is not confirmed if drone operations will be permitted in Turkish airspace.
The security measures extend beyond Trump’s personal delegation. Turkey’s Interior Ministry is deploying 44,000 police officers across Ankara for the summit, consisting of 24,000 from the city’s own force and an additional 20,000 brought in from departments nationwide, along with gendarmerie units managing entry and exit points to the city.
Throughout the summit, roads across the western and southern districts of Ankara are expected to experience repeated closures, with some routes completely sealed off and major shopping centers possibly suspending operations.
More than 100 delegations are anticipated to participate, including defense ministers, foreign ministers, and military chiefs of staff.
This year’s summit takes place amid ongoing conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the recent US-Iran framework agreement aimed at resolving their tensions and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, presenting a notably busy agenda for the gathering.