Türkiye strong across NATO’s key benchmarks, says PA chief

ANKARA

NATO Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Benedetta Berti has said Türkiye is one of the alliance’s strong members, citing its defense spending, military capabilities and contributions to NATO missions.

Speaking ahead of the NATO Parliamentary Summit in Istanbul and the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Berti said Türkiye plays a critical role both militarily and at the parliamentary level.

“Türkiye has been a NATO ally since 1952, for more than 70 years. It is therefore one of the alliance’s core members,” Berti said.

She noted that Türkiye spends more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense and has “incredible defense capacity.”

“In NATO, we look at three key criteria: resources, capabilities and contributions. You can clearly see that Türkiye is a strong ally in all three,” she said.

Berti said Türkiye has taken an active role in NATO missions and activities, from the Western Balkans to the NATO Mission Iraq, counterterrorism, deterrence and defense.

She also praised Turkish lawmakers’ work in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, saying the Turkish delegation was “very strong” and actively engaged in the assembly’s activities.

Berti said the Istanbul parliamentary summit, to be hosted by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, would bring together parliamentary speakers from allied countries ahead of the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara on July 7-8.

She said the Ankara summit would focus on implementation, including how allies will meet last year’s decision to raise defense and security-related spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.

Turning higher spending into concrete military capabilities and strengthening the transatlantic defense industry will be among the main issues, she said.

“I think the summit being held in Türkiye, which has a strong defense industry ecosystem, will send an important message in this regard,” Berti said.

She added that parliaments have a central role in turning NATO summit decisions into practice, as they approve defense budgets and pass legislation needed to support defense industries.

“Decisions are taken at summits, but parliaments make them a reality,” Berti said.

She also said governments should explain clearly to the public why higher defense spending is needed.

“Without security and defense, there can be no prosperity, no economic growth and no peace,” she said.