President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will tell the upcoming NATO leaders summit in Washington focused on the Ukraine war that allies must find the optimum point to draw both Russia and Ukraine to peace negotiations.
As a critical member of the Western security alliance working for the safety of over a billion people, Türkiye is looking to reiterate its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Moscow’s participation in peace talks.
Leaders of 32 NATO member states are convening in Washington, D.C. on July 9-11 to discuss whether an annual support of 40 billion euros ($43 billion) to Ukraine should continue or not.
Türkiye is expected to be in favor of continuing military aid to embattled Ukraine.
The summit is also set to tackle the issue of collective defense, as well as allies sparing at least 2% of their GDP to defense spending. More than 20 NATO members have reached the said target this year.
Türkiye, which has failed to surpass the 2% threshold due to open and covert sanctions on its defense industry, is expected to hit the mark this year.
The summit will discuss demands that aid for Ukraine not be included in the 2% target.
Black Sea littoral state Türkiye has sought to maintain good ties with both Kyiv and Moscow during the war, offering to host peace talks or mediate. Ankara has drawn praise for its unique ability to talk to both sides of the conflict, as well as its initiatives on issues such as the Black Sea grain deal and prisoner exchanges.
The now-collapsed grain deal was widely hailed as averting a global food crisis during 2022-2023.
Ankara, which boasts of a balanced diplomacy in the conflict, supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and provides it with military support, but also opposes Western sanctions on Moscow.
Speaking at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland last weekend, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned of "two major risks" as the war goes on: possible spillage of war beyond Ukraine, deepening polarization at global levels and inherent risk of enrolling to weapons of mass destruction.
"It is increasingly becoming a war more than between Russia and Ukraine," he said.
"We have the Ukrainian peace plan in front of us, and Russia has recently shared some terms. Regardless of the content and the conditions put forward, these are important steps and a glimpse of hope to start with," he said.
"I must also note that this summit could have been more result-oriented if the other party to the conflict, Russia, was present in the room," he added.
