Türkiye will continue to contribute to NATO’s security policies and strategic goals as the alliance’s second-largest army and one of its top contributors to its operations and missions, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said Wednesday.
Güler, during his visit to Brussels for a NATO defense ministers meeting, highlighted the importance of unity among allies, underlining that NATO must remain strong and coherent amid growing global tensions.
Güler stated that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) successfully carried out its NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) command with full neutrality, transparency and professionalism, and continues to contribute to regional stability as deputy commander and will retake command in October.
He emphasized Türkiye's rising global influence, pointing to its active foreign policy, strong military and advanced defense industry, stressing that the country has become an indispensable actor and a key player in the international security architecture.
Güler said member states should stand in solidarity with Türkiye in its long-standing and effective fight against terrorism.
The defense minister told personnel representing Türkiye at NATO headquarters that their role is an honor and a vital responsibility, urging them to uphold national values, strengthen cooperation with international partners and maintain outstanding discipline and conduct at all times.
Türkiye will press European allies, which plan to sharply ramp up their defense spending, to ease restrictions that now require most of that money to be spent in the EU, Güler further told Reuters.
He added Ankara hopes a potential meeting between Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will finally yield progress in lifting U.S. sanctions that expelled Türkiye from the F-35 jet program.
Güler said Türkiye has advanced capabilities in areas such as drones, which would be valuable to its allies as they plan major new spending on defense.
"Allies need to spend not only more, but also smarter – and there is a need for more cooperation than ever before," Güler said when asked about Trump's call on the alliance to ramp up defence spending to target 5% of output.
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.
However, it mandates that 65% of projects be funded by firms in the bloc, the broader European Economic Area or Ukraine.
Güler said such restrictions would exclude non-EU countries like Türkiye from Europe's defense and security architecture, which he said was "an issue that cannot be discussed only within the EU."
Türkiye wants to "build the security of the future together" with the EU and would continue to work with "open-minded and visionary European allies within or outside SAFE," he said, specifically listing drones, air defenses, naval systems, armored vehicles and land platforms, electronic warfare and radar systems, ammunition and rocket systems.
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.
Erdoğan has expressed confidence that Trump, with whom he has good personal ties, will find a solution that relieves Türkiye’s defence industry of the sanctions.
A potential meeting between Erdoğan and Trump, and the close ties between them, can "breathe new life" into bilateral defense ties and help lift the sanctions, Güler said. Although Ankara would not give up the S-400s, lifting the sanctions would let it consider returning to the F-35 project, he said.
Güler also touched upon the situation of the TSK in Syria, saying the troops will stay for now, training and advising the new Syrian defense forces.
"We have started providing military training and consultancy services while taking steps to increase Syria's defense capacity," Güler told Reuters, without elaborating on those steps.
Güler said it was too early to discuss the possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.
This can "only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done," he said.
One of Türkiye's main priorities in Syria, following the fall of Bashar Assad in December and the coming to power of a new Syrian government, is the elimination of the PKK's Syrian wing, the YPG, through its integration into the new national army.
Erdoğan said last week that the SDF was using "stalling tactics,” despite a deal with the Syrian government to integrate into Syria's armed forces. The YPG uses the name SDF to give itself an air of legitimacy.
The deal was signed in March by Syria’s interim president and Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," the ringleader of the YPG. Damascus shunned an open conflict with the YPG and sought a deal for their integration into the new Syrian army.
The YPG currently occupies one-third of Syria's territory, including most of the country's oil and gas fields. Türkiye, which suffered from cross-border attacks by the YPG, supported the Syrian opposition through military offensives in Syria’s north in the past decade and liberated parts of northern Syria from the YPG's grip.
Türkiye has urged Syria’s interim administration to address the YPG’s control over large parts of northern Syria and is currently closely monitoring the integration of the SDF into the Syrian armed forces. Ankara is a major supporter of the al-Sharaa-led administration and backs the March deal.
Speaking on Israeli attacks on Syria, for which Ankara has called for dialogue and restraint, Güler said Türkiye and Israel – which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday – are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.
Ankara’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.
NATO member Türkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel's assault on Gaza.
But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.
Güler described the talks as "technical-level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events" or direct conflict, and as "a communication and coordination structure."
"Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization," he said.
