“As the Ally with NATO’s Second Largest Army, Türkiye Has Always Placed NATO at the Core of Its Own Security — While Also Being at the Core of NATO’s Security!”

Heads of state and government from the 32 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will gather in The Hague, the Netherlands, on June 24–25, 2025. With Türkiye playing a visible and strategic role, and under the new leadership of Mark RUTTE, NATO is preparing to become a stronger, fairer, and more capable Alliance for decades to come. According to NATO Secretary General RUTTE, the “core deliverable” of the Hague Summit will be an allied commitment to significantly increase defense spending in order to build a “stronger, fairer, and more lethal Alliance.” With the permission of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MoND), we conducted an exclusive interview ahead of this important summit with the Turkish Military Representative to NATO, Lieutenant General Kemal TURAN, Turkish Air Force. During the interview, we discussed the current state of Türkiye’s relations with NATO — of which Türkiye became a member on February 18, 1952 and has marked its 73rd year of membership on February 18, 2025 — as well as Türkiye’s operational and military contributions to NATO’s regional and global missions, its financial contributions to the NATO Common Fund, and the benefits it has received in return through NATO Security Investment Projects. We also addressed Türkiye’s support and assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Additionally, Lieutenant General TURAN provided his assessment of the strategic importance of NATO membership for Türkiye, particularly from a military standpoint, and the potential consequences of a hypothetical withdrawal from the Alliance.

Date: Issue 140 - June 2025

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