Türkiye will be hosting the annual NATO summit in 2026, according to a declaration released during Wednesday's summit.
The United States is hosting this year's summit, which marks the 75th anniversary of the military alliance.
The Netherlands will be hosting next year's summit in the Hague in June, the declaration said.
Türkiye, which has the second largest army in NATO, played an important role in determining the position of secretary-general, the highest-level job in the alliance. Türkiye supported Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the position for the next five-year period.
Ankara often condemns “relations” between the terrorist group and certain NATO members as “unacceptable,” “a threat against member states” as well as “against the spirit of alliance.” Those members include the United States, which openly supports the Syrian wing of the PKK through military equipment shipment, under the guise of a fight against Daesh in Syria.
Türkiye refused to ratify the membership bids of Sweden and Finland for more than a year until the Nordic nations met Turkish demands like tightened measures against terrorist groups.
Ankara has lauded the stance of Rutte’s predecessor Jens Stoltenberg, who served as secretary-general for 10 years as the latter emphasized that Türkiye, among NATO allies, suffered the most from terrorism. Stoltenberg has also opposed sanctions in the field of defense that targeted Türkiye. Türkiye faced U.S. sanctions after it purchased S-400 missile systems from Russia. The sanctions put a ban on U.S. export licenses and authorizations for a defense conglomerate overseen by Türkiye’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).
Rutte's stand on NATO-European Union relations was also an important issue for Ankara, with Türkiye emphasizing that the EU is a political alliance and NATO a military alliance.
