Türkiye a ‘great ally and good friend’: US NATO envoy

WASHINGTON

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U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker has described Türkiye as “a great ally and a good friend,” praising its defense industry and contribution to the alliance.

Speaking to Newsmax, Whitaker said Türkiye had a “very capable and important” defense industrial base able to produce ships, munitions and other equipment needed by NATO allies.

He said he had spent time in Türkiye before and during NATO’s July summit in Ankara, visiting U.S. forces and observing a Turkish military exercise.

Whitaker described the country as “a great ally and a good friend” that “works very hard at NATO.”

He also pointed to the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Most importantly, of course, is President Trump’s leader-to-leader relationship with President Erdoğan,” he said.

Turning to defense spending, Whitaker said European allies and Canada had increased their spending by $139 billion, with around $60 billion going toward U.S.-made equipment and munitions.

At the 2025 summit in The Hague, NATO members agreed to raise combined defense and security-related investment to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035. The July 7-8 Ankara summit reviewed progress toward that target.