Türkiye calls for bigger European role in NATO defense

ANKARA

Türkiye on July 7 called for Europe to assume greater responsibility for its own defense while insisting that any new security initiatives must reinforce NATO, as alliance leaders gathered in Ankara for a landmark summit.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said decisions taken at the summit would not only address immediate security challenges but also shape the Euro-Atlantic security environment for years to come.

In a post on X, Fidan said Türkiye was ready to host NATO allies at what he described as a pivotal moment for the alliance’s future.

Fidan said NATO’s principle of collective defense remained at the core of the alliance, but argued that the strategic environment had become faster, more complex and increasingly multidomain.

“Traditional benchmarks no longer reflect this reality,” he said, arguing that deployable capabilities, industrial capacity and operational readiness had become the key measures of military strength.

He stressed that Europe must make a stronger contribution to the alliance’s defense, but said restrictions on defense-industrial cooperation were undermining efficiency and slowing responses to security threats.

Those restrictions, he said, had become “a strategic burden.”

Fidan also called for European defense initiatives to fully include all NATO allies, saying the challenge was not only how to respond to threats but how to organize cooperation in line with today’s security realities.

Defense Minister Yaşar Güler echoed that message, saying the alliance needed to become “stronger, more realistic and more balanced,” with Europe assuming greater responsibility for conventional defense while preserving the indispensable transatlantic link and the United States’ extended deterrence.

Güler said the war in Ukraine continued to shape Euro-Atlantic security, while the recent conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States demonstrated how regional crises could rapidly produce global consequences.

Pointing to changes in the U.S. military posture in Europe, Güler said the adjustments highlighted the need to rebalance responsibilities within the alliance.

He said Türkiye had maintained large, professional armed forces and continued investing in its defense industry and operational capabilities while many European countries reduced their militaries after the Cold War, giving Ankara a strategic advantage that allowed it to contribute immediately when needed.

On the future of European security, Güler welcomed stronger European defense efforts but warned they should strengthen NATO rather than compete with it.

He said European security initiatives should remain open to all capable NATO allies that are not members of the European Union.

“NATO-EU cooperation must be inclusive, complementary and mutually reinforcing,” Güler said, adding that all allies should participate equally and that the alliance should fully benefit from each member’s capabilities.