Europe’s strategic blindness regarding its perspective on Türkiye is harming the bloc, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Ankara deputy and head of the foreign affairs commission in Parliament, Fuat Oktay, said on Monday.
Europe’s new security architecture rooted in the insecurity between Europe and the Atlantic and how Türkiye can contribute to this were discussed, Oktay told TRT at the Concordia Europe Summit, which brought together decision makers for a high-level two-day gathering.
Oktay indicated that this strategic blindness on Türkiye can be well observed from Ankara.
He also explained that threats do not only stem from military attacks in one dimension, but also have different dimensions such as terrorism, cyber attacks and international migration.
"We wanted to convey the message to Europe that it should not see itself as the center of the world. We explained that it can get out of this strategic blindness when it sees itself as a part of the world, not the center, that it cannot provide security and peace within itself without providing security in its surroundings and security and peace in the world, and that from this perspective, Türkiye is in a safer position in terms of European security."
He continued to emphasize that Türkiye, as a nation bearing several faiths and perspectives, would strengthen Europe if it were to take place in its security architecture.
With U.S. President Donald Trump seeking a shift in trans-Atlantic relations, the European Union weighs a joint defense alliance instead of relying on U.S. military support. Although Washington is the leading force of NATO, the new president’s remarks that it was up to Europe, not the United States, to provide security guarantees to Ukraine further raised concerns.
The EU, which seeks to share its topics of discussion and planned steps with NATO’s leading countries in defense, has created a platform for the exchange of ideas under the name of "like-minded countries" for the security of the continent.
Türkiye, both a candidate country for the EU and a NATO ally, has also joined the platform, boasting defense industry breakthroughs in recent years.
Many European nations have announced plans for major increases in defense spending. The EU itself, driven by fears of a Russian attack and doubts about U.S. security commitments, has approved creating a 150 billion euro ($170 billion) EU arms fund to boost the defense industry, labeled the SAFE scheme.
Ankara's defense cooperation with its NATO allies has been hampered in recent years by U.S. sanctions imposed over a Turkish decision to buy Russian S-400 air defense systems, which resulted in Türkiye’s expulsion from the U.S.-led F-35 program as both a buyer and manufacturer of the advanced jets.
Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye, the second largest power in NATO, is the most prepared country in Europe in terms of its defense industry and the power it can send to the field, Oktay said, "We tried to explain that working together with Türkiye in the new security architecture and getting out of this strategic blindness would be in Europe's own interest. We will continue to explain this at every opportunity."
Oktay emphasized that Türkiye has more than fulfilled its share in the face of many problems since the Cold War and said, "If you consider the cost of the instability in Syria in terms of migration, Türkiye has been one of the countries that has paid the biggest cost of this."
Noting that this cost has turned into an opportunity in the medium and long term, Oktay said, "Sometimes things that seem like problems offer serious opportunities in the medium and long term. We tried to explain this in the European dimension as well. We also stated that Türkiye has a lot to contribute to the EU in the medium and long term in relations with Türkiye and that we will contribute to them more than the EU will provide to Türkiye."
Türkiye-EU relations have been marked by disputes on several issues, including tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Türkiye’s role in Syria, the migrant crisis and the stalemate in Türkiye’s accession process to the bloc. However, in recent years, relations have calmed down while both sides have been seeking ways for cooperation. Türkiye’s détente with Greece has also contributed to this fact, as the latter had frequently been rallying the EU to harden its stance against Ankara.
