Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey expects next month’s NATO summit in Ankara to emphasise alliance unity, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, calling for the lifting of restrictions on defence trade and for Ankara’s involvement in initiatives to bolster European security.
Summit expectations
Ankara will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the alliance’s partners in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8, amid tensions within the alliance over burden-sharing, defence spending, and U.S. complaints about allies’ lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.
Speaking at an event for parliamentarians from NATO members in Istanbul, Erdogan said: “Our main expectation from the summit is to achieve results that guard allies’ national security sensitivities, strengthen the spirit of alliance solidarity and unity.”
Security issues on the agenda
Erdogan said the allies would also discuss the wars in Iran, Ukraine, and Gaza during their meeting.
He added that Ankara expected more from allies to support its efforts to end the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s, or PKK’s, more than 40-year insurgency, and to involve Turkey in European defence plans.
Call to lift restrictions
“If we want to combat the tests we are facing, we must lift restrictions on defence industry trade while carrying out burden sharing in a balanced and fair manner,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey was doing its part in terms of reaching NATO’s defence spending targets.
He said that despite Turkey’s contributions, the benefits it provides for European security were being overlooked in some cases.
“As a nation that has a say in the development of the alliance’s European pillar, we have the will to join all defence and security initiatives in the continent,” he said.
Longstanding complaints
Turkey has long complained of U.S. and European restrictions or embargoes on defence industry trade imposed over regional policy differences and Ankara’s ties with Russia.
Ankara has said such measures damage the spirit of the alliance and hinder development.
