In a social media post on Tuesday and at an event in Ankara, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan summed up expectations from the July 7-8 NATO summit and highlighted how the decisions at the summit would “shape the Euro-Atlantic security environment for the years ahead.”
“The stage is set in Ankara. Under President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan’s leadership, Türkiye stands ready to welcome NATO members at a moment that will define the Alliance’s future. The decisions taken in Ankara will not merely address immediate challenges – they will shape the Euro‑Atlantic security environment for the years ahead. Collective defense remains the core of NATO, yet the strategic environment is shifting. Threats are multidomain, faster and more complex. Traditional metrics no longer capture this reality. What matters now is output: deployable capability, industrial capacity, and operational readiness,” Fidan wrote on the social media post.
“A stronger European contribution is essential, but restrictions on defense‑industrial cooperation undermine efficiency and slow response. These constraints have become strategic liabilities. European defense initiatives must remain fully inclusive of all NATO Allies. The real issue is not only how we respond, but how we organize cooperation in a way that reflects today’s realities. The Ankara summit will guide the Alliance in aligning its structures with the world it faces. Türkiye’s objective is clear: a more coherent, more capable, and more resilient Alliance,” he added.
Europe’s “contribution” was also the highlight of Fidan’s statements at “European Security After the Ankara Summit: Strengthening Cooperation Among NATO Allies Across Europe,” organized jointly by the Foreign Ministry's Center for Strategic Research and Chatham House in Ankara.
Diplomatic sources said on Tuesday that at the event held in Ankara on Monday, Fidan said that European security cannot be reduced to the EU and requires a broader approach, emphasizing Türkiye's central role in the continent's security architecture. Fidan said NATO should focus on building long-term strategic capacity rather than merely responding to existing threats, diplomatic sources said. Fidan said that despite tensions between the U.S. and Europe, he does not expect them to turn into an uncontrolled crisis at the NATO summit and that U.S. President Donald Trump's participation will be important in managing differences. He stressed that European security requires a comprehensive approach beyond the EU, underscoring Türkiye's central role in that framework. Fidan reiterated Türkiye's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, while saying maintaining diplomatic contacts and dialogue with Russia also remains necessary for European security.
He added that NATO's defense industrial capacity should not be viewed solely through an EU-centered framework, describing countries such as Türkiye and Britain, both with strong defense industries, as natural and essential partners in European defense cooperation. Fidan said Europe should not view U.S. calls for greater burden-sharing as psychological pressure or a threat, adding that Europe needs to assume greater responsibility for its own defense.
Strengthening Europe's defense capabilities is essential not only for NATO's future but also for Europe's strategic resilience, he said, adding that mutual blame between Europe and the U.S. is not expected to dominate the Ankara summit.
The Turkish foreign minister noted that the most difficult part of preparations for the summit had been persuading Trump to attend, and "the difficult part has been overcome" after securing his participation.
