10 key issues for Türkiye highlighted at NATO summit

WASHINGTON

A Turkish diplomatic source said Wednesday that at the NATO leaders’ summit in Washington, D.C., 10 points stood out for Türkiye.

After a summit scheduled to be held in the Netherlands in 2025, leaders will gather in Türkiye for the next meeting.

The Washington summit said that terrorism is the second biggest threat facing NATO after Russia, which “remains the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security.”

Additionally, a decision reached at last year's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania that allies should not impose sanctions on each other was reaffirmed at this year's summit.

Highlighting the growing threat of ballistic missiles, the summit also reaffirmed the commitment to fully protect all NATO allies, a significant point for Türkiye.

NATO-EU relations

A crucial topic for Türkiye was the decision that NATO-EU cooperation should be based on an older set of agreements, aligning with Türkiye's preferred policy.

It was decided that flagship projects developed by some member countries in the areas of supporting Ukraine, cyber defense, countering disinformation and technology, whether carried out among themselves or outside the NATO framework, should be conducted according to NATO's defense planning process, supporting Türkiye's view of NATO as the sole security umbrella.

The summit also noted that Türkiye's defense spending has risen back to 2% of its GDP, and NATO acknowledged this with appreciation.

In this context, Türkiye reiterated the support plan for enhancing NATO's defense industry capacity accepted at the Vilnius summit and made a new support commitment.

Reference to Montreux Convention

In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Türkiye's implementation of the Montreux Convention along with the Black Sea Grain Initiative and mediation efforts between parties had gained significant global attention.

The Washington Summit Declaration directly referenced the Montreux Convention, and it was decided that non-financial contributions to Ukraine would be recognized by NATO.

The summit also decided to provide training support to Ukraine and prepare a long-term security assistance package.

Additionally, it was agreed to establish a NATO-Ukraine joint analysis, training and education center to coordinate allied support for Ukraine.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul