Thursday’s high-profile meeting of European leaders in Chisinau saw its first high-profile absence when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled out of the summit at the last minute in a show of solidarity with Russia, POLITICO reported, citing News.ro.

The Turkish leader, who won another five-year term at the helm of his country on Sunday after a second round of voting, will not travel to the Republic of Moldova for the one-day summit, according to three officials involved in the preparations. quoted by POLITICO.

The so-called European Political Community (EPC) – a new collective forum launched after Russia’s war in Ukraine – is designed to unite EU and non-EU European leaders. More than 40 leaders from Europe will take part on Thursday, including from all 27 EU countries, as well as non-EU countries such as the UK and Turkey, as well as the countries of the Western Balkans.

The meeting, which will take place in a vineyard near Chisinau, is the second CPE summit after the inaugural meeting held in Prague last October. Recep Erdogan attended this summit in the Czech capital, but had an argument with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the dinner at the end of the summit.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for two decades, won presidential and parliamentary elections this month despite a strong coalition of opposition parties. The 69-year-old leader is expected to announce his new cabinet on Friday, with an inauguration scheduled for the following day.

Meanwhile, European leaders started arriving in Chisinau already on Wednesday, the summit will be held in a castle and winery 35 kilometers from the city, News.ro cites.