President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan evaluated the outcomes of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. In a post on his social media account, Erdoğan emphasized that the summit was completed successfully and noted that the meetings hosted by Turkey were attended by the heads of state and government of 32 NATO member countries, as well as approximately 100 ministers, senior diplomats, representatives of international organizations, and invited guests.
Erdoğan stated that throughout the summit a delicate balance was maintained between top-level security and the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms. He said that security, transportation, coordination, and public order measures were meticulously planned to ensure the safety of leaders, maintain the normal flow of city life, and accurately inform the international public.
Erdoğan noted that the Presidential Nation's Library served as the international media center, and that a workspace for 1,800 people, 40 editing studios, and numerous live broadcast points were allocated for journalists. He stated that the summit was followed by more than 2,500 journalists, a record number, and that with coordination by TRT, the Ankara Summit was broadcast worldwide through 96 cameras, 18 mobile live broadcast stations, and transmissions from 26 different points.
Erdoğan thanked the citizens of Ankara for their tolerance and hospitality during the summit, and expressed gratitude to everyone who worked devotedly in many areas, from law enforcement to the media, technical teams to healthcare personnel, and transportation to protocol and catering services. He also extended special thanks to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for his cooperation-oriented approach and efforts in the preparation and execution of the summit.
"Turkey is one of NATO's strongest players"
President Erdoğan emphasized that the summit, held at a time when the global security architecture is being transformed by great power competition, hybrid threats, regional crises, and the impact of new technologies, once again reaffirmed Turkey's central role in the global security architecture, its diplomatic capacity, and its responsibility within the alliance.
Noting that the "NATO 3.0" concept aims to strengthen Europe's defense capacity and increase the alliance's readiness for the new era, Erdoğan stated that Turkey, with its military capabilities, strategic location, diplomatic experience, and defense industry potential, is at the very center of this transformation and is one of NATO's strongest players.
Erdoğan noted that the summit, which began with the Defense Industry Forum, addressed joint production, strengthening supply chains, coordination in defense technologies, and opportunities for cooperation among allies, and also touched on the bilateral meetings he held during the summit.
Critical meeting with Trump
Erdoğan announced that on the margins of the summit he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Erdoğan stated that many important issues were discussed in the meetings, primarily bilateral relations, as well as relations with the EU, defense industry, trade, energy, security, Euro-Atlantic security, the Balkan Peace Platform, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran-US process, Gaza, Libya, Syria, and regional stability. He announced that during the summit a Security and Defense Partnership Agreement was signed with the United Kingdom, and that free trade agreement negotiations were initiated with Canada.
Erdoğan particularly pointed to his meeting with US President Trump, stating, "I believe that the constructive and productive meetings we held with my dear friend, US President Mr. Trump, who made an official visit to our country on the occasion of the summit, will yield concrete results in line with our country's expectations in the defense industry, especially regarding our national combat aircraft KAAN and the F-35 program."
Defense spending to rise to 3.5 percent
Erdoğan stated that the decisions taken at the summit once again demonstrated the determination to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense capacity, reinforce transatlantic ties, and build the alliance's future with a vision of a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO. He noted that the Ankara Summit Final Declaration reaffirmed unwavering commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and the principle of collective defense.
Erdoğan noted that the declaration highlighted priority areas such as the removal of barriers to defense trade among allies, new defense procurement contracts exceeding 50 billion dollars, military equipment, training assistance and support for Ukraine, and the strengthening of defense industry capacity, as well as topics like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, space, integrated air and missile defense, unmanned systems, and long-range precision strike capabilities. He emphasized that Turkey, with its experience, military capacity, and developing defense industry infrastructure, will continue to make maximum contributions to this process.
Erdoğan stated that Turkey is determined to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent by 2030, and noted that the share of spending related to security and resilience has already reached 1.5 percent of the budget. He also announced that an additional budget of 24 billion dollars has been allocated for the development of air and missile defense systems under the "Steel Dome" project.
Erdoğan stated that Turkey, which supports open communication channels for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, maintains its stance in favor of restraint, diplomacy, and lasting peace in the Iran-US process; and in Gaza, Lebanon, and Libya, it advocates an approach based on ceasefire, stability, and multilateral cooperation. He added that the two-day intense summit in Ankara showed that Turkey is a key actor that sets NATO's security agenda, maintains open dialogue channels in crises, advocates a regional peace perspective, and makes concrete contributions to the alliance's transformation with its defense industry capacity.
