The NATO Summit celebrated the alliance’s 75th anniversary this year. After the summit to be held in the Netherlands in 2025, the leaders will meet in Turkey for the next meeting. Details such as the commitment to fully protect all allies in the fight against terrorism were other important topics of close interest to Turkey.
FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IS RECORDED AS THE SECOND LARGEST THREAT FACED BY NATO
The AA correspondent obtained information from diplomatic sources on issues concerning Turkey at the NATO Summit. An important achievement in the fight against terrorism, which is of great concern to Turkey, was the update of the document determining NATO’s strategy on this issue. In NATO’s Final Declaration, the fight against terrorism was recorded as the second biggest threat facing NATO.
On the other hand, the decision taken at the Vilnius Summit last year that allies should not impose sanctions on each other was reaffirmed at the Washington Summit this year.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan attended the official dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden in honor of the heads of state and government and their spouses within the scope of the summit.
PROTECTING NATO ALLIES AGAINST BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT
At the summit, where it was pointed out that the threat in the context of ballistic missile defense was growing, the re-acceptance of the commitment to fully protect all NATO allies came to the forefront as an important issue for Turkey.
Another important issue for Turkey, in the context of NATO-EU relations, was the decision that cooperation between the two organizations would be carried out on the basis of an acquis communautaire dating back to an earlier period and reflecting a policy preferred by Turkey.
In addition, it was decided that the joint projects developed by some countries among themselves or outside the scope of NATO, in support of Turkey’s view that NATO is the sole security umbrella, would be carried out in accordance with NATO’s defense planning process.
TURKEY’S REACH OF ITS 2 PERCENT TARGET WAS APPRECIATED
NATO commended Turkey at the summit, where it was clearly noted that Turkey’s defense spending had once again increased to 2 percent of its gross domestic product. In this context, Turkey reiterated its support plan for the development of NATO’s defense industry capacity, which it had accepted at the Vilnius Summit, and also made a new commitment to support.
REFERENCE MADE TO MONTREU
Within the framework of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Turkey’s implementation of the Montreux Convention, the Black Sea Grain Agreement and mediation attempts between the parties have frequently been on the agenda around the world. At the Washington Summit, where the Montreux Convention was directly referred to in the Final Declaration, the allies decided that NATO would also recognize non-monetary contributions to Ukraine.
At the summit, it was also decided to provide education support to Ukraine and to prepare a long-term security assistance package.
At the Washington Summit, it was also decided to establish a NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center. It was agreed that the center would coordinate the allies’ support to Ukraine.
(AA)
