EU's Tusk seeks Erdogan talks at NATO summit - Merkel

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk will seek talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a NATO summit in Brussels on May 25th, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday. Merkel said Tusk, who chairs EU summits, very briefly discussed Turkey with 27 EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Saturday to discuss Brexit. "He told us that he will seek, perhaps also with Jean-Claude Juncker, talks with Erdogan during the NATO summit," Merkel told a news conference, referring also to Commission President Juncker. NATO is due to hold a leaders summit at its Brussels headquarters on May 25, which U.S. President Donald Trump is also due to attend. Worried by what the European Union sees as growing authoritarianism, EU lawmakers called this week for a formal suspension of Turkey's long-stalled EU bid. France and Germany sought on Friday a new deal with Turkey on Friday to repair relations but would not say whether the Turkish leader's new powers and his crackdown on opponents had ended the country's EU ambitions. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop)