Turkey has decided not to commit to joining a proposed Canada-based defense financing bank at this stage, three days after the Canadian government named President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as among leaders who declared a shared intention to establish the institution.
The decision followed negotiations in Montreal and consultations involving representatives of Turkey’s Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Treasury and Finance Ministry and Presidency of the Defense Industry, according to the DHA news agency, citing information from the Ministry of Defense.
Turkey did not disclose a reason for the decision. Ankara has not issued a written statement explaining why Canada included Turkey in the declaration or whether the Turkish position changed after the NATO summit.
Canada’s declaration remains unchanged
The July 7 declaration published by the Canadian prime minister’s office names the leaders of Canada, Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine as announcing their “shared intention” to establish the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB).
The document also says the nine governments committed to advancing the bank’s creation so it could begin operating as early as 2027.
A separate Canadian government release said Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed support from the other eight countries, including Turkey. A readout of Carney’s meeting with Erdoğan also said the Canadian leader welcomed Turkey’s support for the bank.
Neither Canadian document had been amended by Friday following the reports from Ankara.
Turkey’s decision leaves Canada, Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania and Ukraine as the countries prepared to make a commitment at this stage. Ukraine is not a NATO member, and the proposed institution is not a formal NATO bank.
Financing arms production
The DSRB is intended to operate like a multilateral development bank for the defense sector. It would use the credit strength of member governments to offer long-term financing and guarantees for defense production, supply chains, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.
The bank aims to raise as much as $134 billion and seek a triple A credit rating to lower borrowing costs.
The initiative was announced as NATO called on financial institutions to increase lending and investment in defense, security and resilience. Institutions supporting that appeal had already mobilized $217 billion for those sectors, according to NATO.