Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored NATO's critical role in fighting terrorism and reiterated Türkiye's commitment to ramping up defence spending, as he addressed fellow leaders at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
"NATO has an important role when it comes to counterterrorism; Türkiye has always been vocal about this," Erdogan said, highlighting his country's longstanding concerns over terror threats in the region. "Türkiye has been affected directly by terrorism, and as an ally we take this very seriously."
Erdogan said the alliance's success against terrorism hinges on unity and coordination. "We agreed that counterterrorism can only be successful if allies cooperate," he said.
Addressing the bloc's financial commitments, Erdogan praised NATO allies for increasing their defence budgets, saying: "We discussed how we can increase our defence spending to 5% of our GDP; this is what we have committed to."
He added, "Türkiye is very close to fulfilling the 5% commitment."
"New crises continue to unfold in today's world, and this commitment shows NATO stands ready and is willing to stay united," Erdogan said, in reference to both regional instability and broader global threats.
Touching on the ongoing war in Ukraine, Erdogan pointed to Türkiye's role as a diplomatic broker. "A war has been raging in Ukraine, and this has had regional and international ramifications," he said.
"In March 2022, we hosted a summit in Istanbul, which came to a halt, while the grain deal and exchange of prisoners of war were some of the concrete results of that process," he said.
"The parties also have confidence in us, and that is why we initiated a new process in Istanbul."
Erdogan struck a cautiously optimistic note about future diplomacy.
"We believe that there is a window of opportunity, and this needs to be put to good use," he said. "Hopefully, we're going to pave the way for a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine."
The NATO summit continues through Thursday, with leaders expected to issue a joint communique reinforcing the alliance's expanded defence commitments.
