Erdogan says Turkiye must be included in Europe’s security structures ahead of Nato summit

ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkiye should be part of all of Europe’s defence and security arrangements, as the Nato alliance prepares for a summit in the Turkish capital next week.

Addressing parliamentary delegates from all 32 Nato member states in Istanbul, Erdogan said Europe at times failed to fully recognise Turkiye’s role in continental security. He said Ankara wanted to take part in all defence and security initiatives across Europe and called on lawmakers to back the country’s inclusion in new European Union frameworks.

Erdogan’s remarks came as European governments seek to strengthen their military capabilities amid the threat from Russia and concerns over a possible reduction in US commitment to Nato. The alliance is due to hold a summit in Ankara on July 7-8.

Speaking to the delegates, Erdogan said Turkiye expected support for its participation in the defence and security initiatives announced by the EU. One key issue is access to the EU’s 150-billion-euro ($176bn) Security Action for Europe, or Safe, initiative, which is intended to bolster Europe’s defence capabilities.

Turkiye is technically eligible for the Safe programme, but participation requires the approval of all 27 EU member states. Greece has threatened to block that approval.

Erdogan also pressed Nato allies to lift obstacles affecting defence industry trade within the alliance, saying members needed fairer burden-sharing and fewer restrictions if they were to meet common challenges.

He told the gathering "Turkiye’s indispensable contributions to European security are sometimes overlooked".

He also said "We expect your support, lawmakers, for Turkiye’s inclusion in the defence and security initiatives announced by the European Union".

On defence trade, Erdogan said "If we want to overcome the challenges we face, we need to remove obstacles to defence industry trade while ensuring a balanced and fair burden-sharing among allies".

Turkiye has Nato’s second-largest army after the United States and has expanded its domestic defence industry through bilateral agreements. But its arms sector has been affected by US sanctions imposed after Ankara bought the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system.

Washington also removed Turkiye from the F-35 programme, deepening strains between the two allies. Although the United States has indicated it wants to move beyond the dispute, lifting sanctions under the CAATSA framework would require approval from Congress, and observers believe the issue is unlikely to be resolved before the summit.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump has said he would give Erdogan something that would make him very happy when he travels to Turkiye for the Nato meeting with other world leaders. This could mean the delivery of several dozen US-made F110 engines needed for Turkiye’s fifth-generation KAAN fighter jets, whose transfer has been blocked since the CAATSA sanctions were imposed.