President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the 36th NATO Summit held in Ankara has successfully concluded and thanked the people of Ankara for hosting. He emphasized in a social media post that the summit demonstrated Turkey's role in global security.
Erdoğan also extended his thanks to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for his contributions to the preparation and conduct of the summit. He stated that the NATO 3.0 vision adopted at the summit aims to strengthen Europe's defense capacity and prepare the alliance for a new era.
Turkey's Key Role in NATO
Erdoğan said that with its military capability, strategic location, diplomatic experience, and defense industry capacity, Turkey is one of NATO's most powerful actors, and added: "Turkey is not only the host country but a key ally that directly contributes to the alliance's defense, diplomacy, and crisis resolution capacity."
Efforts in Regional Peace Processes
In the post, Erdoğan noted that communication channels are kept open for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, that diplomacy and lasting peace are advocated in the Iran-US process, and that a ceasefire, stability, and multilateral cooperation approach is maintained regarding Gaza, Lebanon, and Libya.
New Agreements and Cooperations
Erdoğan stated that a Security and Defense Partnership Agreement was signed with the United Kingdom and negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement were launched with Canada as part of the summit, and said these steps deepen cooperation within the alliance.
Defense Industry Talks with the US
Erdoğan expressed his belief that the constructive and productive meeting with US President Donald Trump will lead to concrete results in the defense industry field, particularly the KAAN and F-35 program, in line with Turkey's expectations.
