SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - Türkiye closed out the first North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit ever held in its capital on Wednesday with its standing in the alliance visibly enhanced, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed to progress on F-35 fighter jets, a thaw in relations with Washington and a defense industry that he said now outpaces many allies.
"We have successfully concluded our NATO summit, which we hosted in our country for the second time in 22 years and for the first time in our capital, Ankara," Erdogan said at a news conference after the two-day gathering at the Beştepe Presidential Complex. "This historic summit, which we hosted at a time when Euro-Atlantic security is being tested, has been conducted in a manner that will shape our common future."
The summit itself produced substantial commitments. Allies pledged 70 billion euros, about $80 billion, in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine in 2026, and announced more than $50 billion in new procurements at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit Defence Industry Forum, according to the alliance. Members also agreed to a 27 billion euro investment to modernize fuel storage and pipeline infrastructure extending to the eastern flank, while European allies and Canada reported raising core defense spending by more than $139 billion since last year's summit in The Hague, a jump of nearly 20 percent.
For the host, however, the most consequential developments came on the sidelines. Erdogan said US President Donald Trump has taken a "positive approach" toward delivering F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, more than six years after Washington suspended the country from the program over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system. Ankara has long argued that the two systems do not conflict and that its suspension violated the program's rules.
"Mr. Trump actually has a positive approach toward Türkiye on the F-35 issue. Hopefully, when the F-35s are delivered to Türkiye, the whole world will say, 'America kept its promise,'" Erdogan said.
Asked whether Washington had linked a possible F-35 sale to the S-400 issue, Erdogan declined to elaborate. "Keep watching us," he replied.
The Turkish president also said US sanctions against Ankara are no longer being enforced. "At the moment, the United States is not applying any sanctions against us. To a large extent, they have been lifted," he said, adding that senior Turkish officials including the defense minister, foreign minister and chief of the general staff had confirmed this firsthand.
Momentum extended to Türkiye's flagship domestic aircraft program. Erdogan said Trump expressed support for the sale of F110 jet engines, manufactured by General Electric, to power the KAAN fighter jet, an indigenous program launched in 2016 to reduce reliance on foreign military equipment. The Trump administration has reportedly notified Congress of a proposed engine sale valued at more than $700 million. The two leaders also discussed joint naval construction, including frigates, corvettes and submarines, which Erdogan said Turkish shipyards are fully capable of building.
"It was a very, very productive meeting," Erdogan said of his talks with Trump, noting that the US president "left the press conference very happy." He added that Trump responds within 24 hours whenever Ankara reaches out.
Erdogan framed the warming ties as recognition of the capabilities Türkiye built largely on its own. He said the country never enjoyed the post-Cold War peace dividend that many European states did, instead contending with regional crises and terrorism for decades. "There were times when we were left alone and treated unfairly. Therefore, we often had to rely on our own capabilities," he said. "Today, in terms of defense spending, military capabilities and the defense industry that underpins them, we are well ahead of many allies."
The numbers back up an expanding role. Türkiye commands NATO's second-largest land army and has anchored the alliance's southeastern flank for decades. Turkish F-16s will deploy to Estonia in August as part of NATO's Air Policing mission, Ankara will lead the Kosovo Force until September 2026 and the country is scheduled to command the NATO Response Force in 2028 and 2029. Addressing alliance leaders, Erdogan said Türkiye has taken steps to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product before 2030 and ranks among the world's top 10 countries in defense production and export capacity, according to the Embassy of Türkiye in Seoul.
He singled out drone maker Baykar as proof of that rise. "They are receiving very serious orders from around the world and continue to do so. This shows that our unmanned aerial vehicles and armed drones have found acceptance globally," Erdogan said. He also promoted the Steel Dome, Türkiye's integrated air defense project, saying it strengthens both national and alliance defenses. "If others have different domes, we also have the Steel Dome," he said.
Erdogan pressed allies to remove what he called lingering barriers to defense trade within the alliance. "Although some obstacles to defense industry trade among allies have decreased, they still exist. These restrictions must be removed as soon as possible, without conditions," he said. In his address to alliance leaders, he warned that excluding non-European Union allies from European defense cooperation would create an artificial division within Europe, and at his press conference, he repeated that EU defense initiatives must complement NATO rather than duplicate it.
He brushed aside criticism of a potential F-35 sale from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "A country can buy and sell defense equipment. Türkiye is already producing these systems, and alongside producing them, it also has the right to buy them," he said. On Greece, however, he struck a conciliatory note, welcoming Mitsotakis' expressed desire to resolve maritime disputes in the Aegean Sea. "Let us sit down, talk and resolve the issue," he said.
On Ukraine, Erdogan said the war has become one of attrition, "claiming tens of thousands of casualties every month," and renewed Türkiye's offer to host negotiations, having brokered earlier rounds of talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul. "There are no losers in a just peace. I would like to reiterate that we are ready to bring the parties together once again in Türkiye," he said. He also expressed support for Trump's vision for peace in Ukraine, according to the embassy.
He said he repeatedly pushed Gaza onto the summit agenda, citing more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths, and pointed to nearly 5,000 deaths in Lebanon since March 2 from continuing Israeli attacks. "Our region can tolerate neither new tensions nor new conflicts. On the contrary, like air and water, humanity needs peace, tranquility and stability," he said. Türkiye stands ready to contribute to clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he told alliance leaders.
Erdogan met Trump as well as the leaders of Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom on the summit's sidelines, and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was also in Ankara. He said he would keep pressing European leaders on Türkiye's EU accession, telling German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that "making Türkiye wait for 53 years is an injustice."
Türkiye will host two more major international gatherings this year: the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara on Oct. 29 and 30, and the COP31 United Nations climate summit in Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20.
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