Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler has said NATO is adapting to a changing security environment and that the United States is not seeking to leave the alliance, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing written responses from Güler ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara next week.
Turkey will host the leaders of NATO’s 32 member states, along with officials from Gulf countries and the Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8. Ankara hopes the summit will stress alliance unity and strengthen deterrence at a time of growing concern over the future of the transatlantic security relationship.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of NATO, while Washington has moved to reduce troops, aircraft, ships and weapons in Europe amid tensions over defense spending, sharing the security burden and US complaints about allies’ limited involvement in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In his written responses to Reuters, Güler said the summit’s priorities would include showing allies’ increased defense spending, taking steps toward a stronger transatlantic defense industry, reaffirming unity within NATO and increasing support for Ukraine.
“NATO continues to be an unparalleled and fundamental platform for Euro-Atlantic security and defense. We evaluate the period we are going through not as a crisis but as a process of adjusting to the changing security environment,” Güler said.
He said Washington had “no intention of withdrawing” from NATO but wanted European allies and Canada to take on more responsibility for European security.
“It is expected that contacts and efforts on creating a concrete roadmap to strengthen the European pillar will intensify at the summit,” Güler said, adding that while Ankara supports a fairer sharing of the security burden, its priority is to preserve alliance unity.
NATO has come under heavy strain, with some European allies worried that Washington may eventually leave the alliance or that Europe will have to fill gaps created by the reduction of US forces.
Güler said the United States plays a central role in NATO’s security and deterrence and that preserving the transatlantic bond is of strategic importance.
“NATO’s current nuclear sharing arrangements and the US role of extended deterrence remain fundamentally important to the security of the Alliance,” he said.
Turkey seeks role in European defense plans
Turkey has NATO’s second-largest army and has sharply reduced its dependence on foreign suppliers in the defense sector in recent years, building one of the world’s leading defense industries.
However, Ankara has been largely excluded from several European defense initiatives due to political and policy disputes with some European countries.
Güler said Turkey in principle sees European efforts to strengthen defense and security as positive but argued that such efforts would not be fully effective if they excluded Turkey.
“We believe excluding such an important capacity [Turkey] from Europe’s defense initiatives is a strategically inaccurate approach,” he said, adding that Ankara expects Europe to take a more “visionary approach” and cooperate with Turkey.
NATO allies last year agreed on a defense spending target of 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035.
Güler said Turkey is committed to that target and is gradually increasing its defense spending, adding that Ankara aims to meet all its NATO capability targets by 2029.
He said Turkey’s priority areas for defense spending include drones, systems to counter drones, air defense and missile systems, naval projects, unmanned systems and cyber capabilities.
Güler also said Turkey’s “Steel Dome,” an integrated air defense system designed to link different air defense layers, would be completed “as soon as possible.”
Air defense remains a key issue for Turkey, which does not yet have a fully developed long-range missile defense system of its own and relies heavily on NATO systems and fighter jets.
Güler said Turkey is evaluating “all options” to meet its air defense needs, including the possible purchase of Patriot systems from the United States or Franco-Italian SAMP/T systems.
“Our core approach on this issue is clear: We are open to all cooperation that meets our country’s security needs, that includes technology-sharing and joint production, and that is sustainable and in line with the spirit of alliance,” Güler said.
He added that technical and political talks with the relevant countries were taking place “from time to time.”