Germany’s defense minister on Wednesday underscored Türkiye’s strategic importance to European security, commending Ankara for its significant contributions to NATO’s defense planning and collective deterrence efforts.

Speaking to reporters after observing NATO's Steadfast Dart 2026 military exercise in the Baltic Sea, Boris Pistorius said NATO allies are united and prepared to confront security challenges.

"Türkiye is a very, very important NATO partner on the southeastern flank with considerable capabilities, which have become impressively evident today, for example, with the amphibious boats,” he told reporters. "These are new to the Turkish Navy and have proven to be of high quality.”

The Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise, NATO's largest of the year, tests the rapid deployment and integration of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF). Running from January to March 2026, it involves around 10,000 personnel from 11 NATO countries.

Pistorius thanked Türkiye for its substantial contribution, which includes around 2,000 military personnel, Bayraktar TB3 armed unmanned aerial vehicles, its largest warship TCG Anadolu, several frigates, and various other indigenous assets. He praised the quality of Turkish equipment and forces.

"The contribution of the Turkish allies, the Turkish friends here at this deployment exercise, is of central importance, of course, for NATO as a whole. Because it shows that NATO is bigger than some people believe. And that Türkiye has always played a central role in this, and probably even more so today,” Pistorius said.