Politics
Türkiye’s expanding military reach boosts diplomatic clout, analysts say
Recently, discussions over the potential participation of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in a possible Gaza Task Force, coupled with ministry officials’ repeated emphasis that the TSK is “ready for duty anytime, anywhere,” have brought renewed attention to Türkiye’s previous and ongoing missions across the world.
“A country’s foreign policy is effective when its elements of national power are strong and act in coordination. Among these elements, military power serves as a source of deterrence and influence in external affairs. The scope and impact of a country’s foreign policy are often shaped by the effectiveness and reach of its military capability,” a professor and military strategist, Ali Fuat Gökçe told Daily Sabah.
Throughout the years, the TSK have operated alongside other militaries in a spirit of solidarity and coordination, carrying out cross-border operations and contributing to the success of NATO missions through training, discipline and modern equipment.
Gökçe stated that Türkiye has significantly bolstered its military capabilities in recent years through domestically developed defense systems, strengthening both its deterrent posture and its leverage in foreign policy across key regions, including Syria, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.
“In what Ankara considers strategically important, such as Somalia, Libya and tensions between Pakistan and India, Türkiye has increasingly emerged not as a passive participant in diplomatic processes, but as a proactive actor shaping negotiations and setting the agenda,” he adds.
The TSK has extensive experience in peace support and international missions across multiple regions serving under the mandates of the United Nations, NATO and other international frameworks, earning recognition for professionalism and impartiality.
“Having extensive experience in the establishment and preservation of peace, the Turkish Armed Forces stand ready for any duty to be assigned,” Defense Ministry officials reiterated several times.
Hüseyin Fazla, founder and director of STRASAM and a retired air force brigadier general, noted that: “Türkiye has expanded the profile of the TSK in peacekeeping and stabilization missions. In overseas deployments under NATO, including KFOR in Kosovo, the European Union’s EUFOR mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and United Nations mandates, Turkish forces have operated with increased situational awareness and modern armored vehicles such as the Kirpi and Vuran, enhancing both security and effectiveness in the field.”
Türkiye’s participation in peace support operations dates back to the Korean War in 1950 and has continued in various forms since. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkish forces were deployed in 1994 under U.N. command and later continued their mission under NATO following the Dayton Peace Agreement. Turkish units were tasked with securing safe areas, supporting humanitarian efforts and helping maintain neutrality among Serb, Bosnian and Croat communities.
In Kosovo, Türkiye has participated in the NATO-led KFOR mission since 1999 under a U.N. Security Council mandate. Turkish forces have supported efforts to establish and maintain a safe and secure environment while also providing training assistance to Kosovo security structures.
While arguing the impacts of strong army capabilities, Gökçe also pointed out that “Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that tariffs would be increased on countries purchasing natural gas from Russia, Türkiye has faced no direct countermeasures for maintaining its energy ties with Moscow, which supplies more than 40% of its natural gas needs, and for remaining the only NATO member not to impose sanctions on Russia — a position in part to Ankara’s military strength and broader foreign policy leverage.”
Moreover, Fazla said: “In addition, the operational gains the Turkish Armed Forces have accumulated in overseas missions including cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq as part of counterterrorism efforts amount to a valuable reservoir of ‘know-how’ for allied countries, he said, the expanding body of experience and capabilities has positioned the military not only as a fighting force but increasingly as a center of excellence, with NATO allies turning to it for consultation.
“The adoption of Turkish military doctrine and equipment by foreign personnel trained by the TSK is viewed as playing a critical role in establishing long-term strategic ties between Türkiye and those nations,” he asserted, underlining that Turkish military deployments in Somalia and Qatar, along with advisory activities in Libya, contributed to the reshaping of those countries’ defense architectures.
In Libya, Türkiye has provided training and advisory support to forces aligned with the country’s internationally recognized government. The Turkish Parliament in December 2025 extended the mandate authorizing the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya for an additional two years. Ankara says its presence is based on formal agreements with Libyan authorities and aims to contribute to stability and institutional restructuring.
On the other hand, Fazla also drew attention to the soft power through military channels, noting that at Türkiye’s largest overseas military base, TURKSOM, Somali forces’ elite “Gorgor” commando units have been trained to combat the al-Shabab militant group, while Somali officers and noncommissioned officers receive instruction in Turkish and are educated in line with Turkish military doctrine.
“This process lays the groundwork for a decadeslong alignment in strategic thinking between the Somali Armed Forces’ command structure and the Turkish military, he asserted.
Remarking on the modernization of the defense industry and the correlation between operational and political aims, Fazla indicated that the Turkish navy’s presence on the high seas, including counterpiracy operations off the coast of Somalia and escort missions for seismic research vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean, has enabled Ankara to safeguard its maritime interests not only through diplomatic démarches but through a tangible operational presence.
According to Fazla, “Türkiye’s deployment of an air defense umbrella around Tripoli and the strategic al-Watiya Air Base in Libya was widely described as a landmark demonstration of capability, marking the first time a NATO army established a layered air defense network in the field against Russian- and Chinese-origin aerial platforms, a move that drew attention from allied capitals.”
“Rather than merely showing the flag, Turkish forces now deploy to shape regional dynamics, train and in many cases help restructure host nation militaries, and actively demonstrate domestically produced defense systems in the field,” he concluded.
In addition to ongoing missions in multiple regions, Türkiye has also conducted numerous cross-border operations against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian branch, the YPG.
The cross-border operations conducted with Iraq’s consent, while others have been justified under the right of hot pursuit and self-defense, including within the framework of a 1984 bilateral security agreement. Since the early 1990s, Ankara has launched a series of operations in northern Iraq – from Operation Steel and Operation Sun to the ongoing Claw operations that began in 2018.
Cross-border campaigns later expanded into northern Syria, including Operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Spring Shield between 2015 and 2020.
Following Türkiye’s operations in Syria, the country has started a historic opportunity after the fall of the Assad regime with the new government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Ankara has campaigned for the removal of terrorist groups from its southern border for a long time, accusing foreign powers of giving them room in Syria.
Most recently, NATO stages its biggest exercise this year in Germany, with some 10,000 personnel from 11 countries. Türkiye, which has the defense body’s second-largest army, dispatched 2,000 personnel for Steadfast Dart 2026, which began last week. The exercise, which will continue until Feb. 20, aims to showcase NATO’s ability to deploy rapidly and conduct complex operations, the body said in a statement earlier this month.
It is the first time that Türkiye sent so many troops to Northern Europe, though the country is a major component of NATO at a time of heightened defense worries in Europe.
Turkish police detained 11 foreign nationals in Istanbul on Thursday in an operation targeting suspected links to the Daesh and al-Qaida terrorist groups, according to authorities.
Counterterrorism units, working with the Istanbul police intelligence branch, launched an investigation into suspects believed to have been in contact with members of the two groups in conflict zones.
Authorities said investigators identified the suspects and their addresses after determining they allegedly shared social media posts praising the terrorist groups.
Police also assessed that the suspects could potentially carry out attacks targeting Türkiye, authorities said.
Officers carried out simultaneous raids at the identified addresses and detained 11 suspects. Police seized a knife, eight rounds of ammunition and a large amount of digital material during searches of the properties.
The suspects were taken to police headquarters for further questioning and processing.
Türkiye has conducted sustained counterterrorism operations against Daesh for years, targeting members, facilitators and financial networks both domestically and across its borders. Turkish security forces regularly carry out nationwide raids to prevent attacks and dismantle the organization’s presence in the country.
Daesh remains a threat to Türkiye, which has lost dozens of citizens in attacks carried out by the group, particularly during the period when it was active in neighboring Iraq and Syria. The country has also sought to bring Turkish nationals affiliated with the terrorist group back from abroad.
An 18-member delegation of Palestinian judges and prosecutors is attending an international training program in Türkiye focusing on cybercrime and money laundering as Ankara and Palestine seek to expand cooperation in judicial education.
The delegation, led by Wesam Salayma, director of the Palestinian Judicial Institute, is taking part in the International Training Program on Combating Cybercrime and Money Laundering organized by the Justice Academy of Türkiye, according to a statement from the academy.
The Palestinian delegation traveled to Türkiye under a memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides to strengthen cooperation in the training of judges, prosecutors and assistant judges and prosecutors.
Speaking at the opening of the program, Justice Academy of Türkiye President Metin Yıldırım highlighted what he described as the historic and strong ties between Türkiye and Palestine.
Yıldırım said cooperation in judicial education would further strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience between the judicial institutions of the two sides.
He also said the academy would continue its international judicial training activities and seek to deepen cooperation with judicial institutions in partner countries.
Referring to developments in Palestine and Gaza, Yıldırım expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation with Palestinian judicial officials in training and education.
The program aims to strengthen judicial training and the exchange of professional experience, with sessions focusing on crimes that have become increasingly diverse and transnational alongside rapid technological developments.
Academics and members of the judiciary are providing training on issues including crypto assets and criminal law, cyberbullying, crimes involving personal data, the collection of electronic evidence, technology-based investigative measures and the use of artificial intelligence in cybercrime.
The training is part of broader judicial cooperation between Türkiye and Palestine under the memorandum of understanding between their judicial training institutions.
The agreement provides for joint symposiums, conferences, workshops and training programs as well as exchanges of experts and academics.
It also envisages joint scientific research, the preparation of educational materials and publications, the development of digital training platforms, reciprocal internship programs and work on joint curricula.
The memorandum will remain in effect for five years after its signing and will automatically be renewed for successive three-year periods unless either side notifies the other that it does not intend to renew it.
A civil-society organization representing Turks in Western Thrace on Wednesday criticized remarks by Greek Deputy Education Minister Nikos Papaioannou linking the use of Turkish in minority education to what he described as efforts to bring the minority under a single identity.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) said in a statement that Turkish is the mother tongue of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and an integral part of the community’s identity and educational autonomy.
The federation said Greece recognizes the special status of the minority education system in Western Thrace as stemming from the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, while arguing that government policies have gradually weakened its autonomy in education.
The ABTTF also said minority schools have had their operations suspended one by one on the grounds of declining student numbers and that Turkish families face difficulties when seeking to enroll their children in minority schools.
The group rejected what it described as attempts to portray the Turkish language as a means of eliminating differences within the minority and bringing its members under a single identity.
It called on Greece to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty of Lausanne and to restore the autonomous structure of the minority education system.
The statement came in response to remarks by Papaioannou in the Greek parliament.
Responding to a parliamentary question from NIKI party lawmaker Yorgos Rountas, Papaioannou said the minority education system in Western Thrace was based on the Treaty of Lausanne.
He argued, however, that the prominent role of Turkish in minority education served to bring the minority under a single identity.
Papaioannou also rejected characterizations that minority schools were being “closed,” arguing that the”suspension of their operations” was the result of declining student numbers.
Ali Ihsan Yavuz, deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told journalists on Tuesday that they had concluded their work on a new constitution “to a point” and would soon present it to the party’s chair, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Replacing the oft-patched, outdated and undemocratic Constitution, originally drafted upon the orders of the military junta that seized power in 1980, has been an ambition of Erdoğan.
Yavuz, a member of a committee formed by the party at Erdoğan’s instruction to work on a new constitution, said their ambition remained intact. “Sooner or later, we will accomplish drafting a new, civilian, democratic constitution,” Yavuz said at an event in the central province of Eskişehir on Tuesday. He said they were working to arrange a meeting with Erdoğan amid his tight schedule. “When the opportunity arises, the constitution will be shaped and implemented,” he said.
Since the founding of the Republic of Türkiye, constitutional design has served as the backbone of the country’s legal system. The current Constitution, adopted in 1982, has been repeatedly amended over the decades, most notably in 2017, when a national referendum paved the way for the country’s transition from a parliamentary model to an executive presidential system.
Despite numerous amendments over the decades, replacing the 1982 Constitution with a new, civilian-drafted charter remains a prominent issue in Türkiye’s political debate.
Erdoğan and Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş have repeatedly advocated for a new civilian constitution, arguing that the existing charter retains the legacy of the military rule under which it was drafted despite extensive subsequent amendments.
Kurtulmuş said in August 2026 that Türkiye’s political climate and level of dialogue had matured sufficiently for work toward a new civilian constitution, describing such a charter as a longstanding objective.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to press the international community for stronger action over Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza, renewed recognition of Palestinian statehood and reform of the U.N. Security Council, while laying out Türkiye’s positions on conflicts and challenges stretching from Syria and Ukraine to climate change and artificial intelligence.
Erdoğan placed the Palestinian issue at the center of his speech as he addressed the 81st session of the General Assembly, saying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was unable to attend the gathering for a second consecutive year and pledging that Türkiye would continue to raise the Palestinian people’s voice from the U.N. podium.
“This injustice against our Palestinian brothers and sisters deeply wounds our conscience,” Erdoğan said. “Just as last year, this year we will be the voice of a free and sovereign Palestinian state.”
He also called on countries that have yet to recognize Palestine to reconsider their position.
Describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza in stark terms, Erdoğan said the enclave had become not only “the world’s largest graveyard for children” but also the place with the highest rate of child amputees due to Israel’s genocidal attacks.
He said more than 74,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, had been killed in Gaza over the past three years and that more than 70% of generators at hospitals in the enclave were out of service because of fuel shortages.
He said Israel killed more than 1,500 Palestinians even after a cease-fire was reached through the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump and contributions from Türkiye and other countries.
“This is not a personal issue for Tayyip Erdoğan. It is a matter of humanity,” he said. “No one with humanity in their heart, with compassion and mercy, and with a sense of fairness and conscience can turn a blind eye to this tragedy.”
Erdoğan also described Gaza as “the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time” and slammed Israel for pursuing a “genocidal mentality with an insatiable appetite for killing.”
Turning to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, Erdoğan said the West Bank was experiencing its worst period of Israeli illegal settler violence and criticized Israeli authorities for restricting Muslim and Christian access to holy sites in Jerusalem.
He also warned against attempts to dismantle UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
Erdoğan urged countries gathered at the U.N. to increase pressure on Israel and reiterated Türkiye’s support for a two-state solution.
“I call on you to exert greater pressure on Israel. Attempts to suffocate Palestine will fail,” Erdoğan said.
“God willing, we will see the day when an independent and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, becomes a reality.”
Erdoğan said the failure to halt conflicts extended well beyond Palestine, pointing to more than 60 wars and conflicts over the past year and saying some 250,000 people had been killed from Gaza, Ukraine and Russia to Myanmar, Darfur, Iran and Lebanon.
He argued that the scale of the violence showed the U.N. was increasingly unable to fulfill its founding responsibility of preserving international peace and security.
Beyond the Middle East, Erdoğan renewed his longstanding demand for changes to the structure of the U.N. Security Council, arguing that the current system gives disproportionate power to its five permanent members.
“A system in which the will of more than 190 countries is subject to the whims of five countries is neither fair nor capable of fully inspiring trust,” Erdoğan said.
He said the Security Council “must be reformed” in accordance with his longstanding principle that “the world is bigger than five,” referring to the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain, which hold permanent seats and veto power on the council.
Erdoğan outlined several principles for a fairer international system, including applying international law equally to powerful and weaker states, strengthening regional ownership of crises and putting cooperation and open diplomacy at the center of interstate relations.
He cited the Black Sea Grain Initiative as an example of Türkiye using regional diplomacy to contribute to both regional and global security.
Erdoğan also addressed growing competition over technology and the global economy, warning that “technological polarization and digital hegemony” were not in the interests of either the U.N.-centered international system or its member states.
He called for countries to jointly develop “a new paradigm” to confront deepening global income inequality.
Erdoğan also addressed artificial intelligence, warning that the technology was becoming increasingly difficult to control and calling for a common international legal framework.
He urged countries to accelerate efforts toward a U.N. international convention governing artificial intelligence.
On Syria, Erdoğan said the country had entered a new period following the Dec. 8 change in government and voiced support for President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
He said Syria was moving toward becoming a secure and peaceful country despite what he described as internal and external provocations and pledged that Türkiye would continue supporting the Syrian people.
Erdoğan also backed efforts to strengthen state authority and stability in neighboring Iraq, highlighting cooperation on transportation and energy projects, particularly the Development Road Project.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdoğan said Türkiye hoped for an end to the conflict that preserved Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said Ankara remained in contact with the parties to restore navigational security in the Black Sea, protect food security and prevent the war from spreading.
Erdoğan strongly condemned attacks against commercial shipping in the Black Sea regardless of who carried them out.
He separately stressed the need to preserve freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and said Türkiye was working with regional actors to prevent conflicts in the Gulf from spreading further.
In the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Erdoğan called for disputes to be resolved through international law and good-neighborly relations and renewed Türkiye’s proposal for an Eastern Mediterranean Conference.
On Cyprus, Erdoğan called for international recognition of the sovereign equality and international status of the Turkish Cypriot people.
“The inhumane isolation they have endured must finally come to an end,” Erdoğan said.
“I call on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish political and economic relations with it.”
Erdoğan also emphasized Türkiye’s role in European security, arguing that the continent could not build an effective security architecture without Ankara.
“A Europe that excludes Türkiye from its security architecture cannot, let me say this clearly, become stronger or safer,” Erdoğan said.
He pointed to Türkiye’s NATO membership, growing defense industry and the NATO summit hosted in Ankara in July as evidence of the country’s role in European and trans-Atlantic security.
Erdoğan said Ankara wanted to shape its future relationship with the European Union through the same strategic perspective and expected Brussels to reciprocate.
Turning to the South Caucasus, Erdoğan voiced support for lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and praised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for their commitment to reaching a settlement.
He said Türkiye would also continue its normalization process with Armenia.
Erdoğan highlighted growing cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States and said its 13th leaders’ summit would be held in Ankara on Oct. 30.
On Africa, Erdoğan expressed support for efforts toward a cease-fire and lasting peace in Sudan, stronger security and institutional capacity in Somalia and a Libyan-led reconciliation process in Libya.
He said Türkiye would continue supporting Libya’s political process and announced that the fourth Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit would be held in Libya in December.
Erdoğan also said disputes in South Asia, including Kashmir, should be addressed through dialogue in accordance with the U.N. Charter and relevant resolutions.
Climate change and inequality also featured prominently in the address.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would host the COP31 climate summit in Antalya in November and wanted the gathering to become an “Implementation COP,” focused on fulfilling climate finance commitments, accelerating technology transfers and translating pledges into concrete action.
He highlighted the Zero Waste Movement launched by first lady Emine Erdoğan in 2017 and called for greater international efforts to tackle waste and food insecurity.
Erdoğan said more than 2 billion tons of food were wasted globally each year, arguing that there could be no genuine global justice while food was discarded on a massive scale as hundreds of millions struggled with hunger.
He also announced Türkiye’s nomination of Mehmet Mehdi Eker for director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
Turning to social issues, Erdoğan warned of rising Islamophobia, xenophobia, cultural racism and antisemitism.
He said Muslim women and girls were increasingly subjected to discrimination and criticized headscarf bans in schools in some countries as violations of women’s fundamental rights.
Erdoğan also identified disinformation on social media as a growing threat to social peace, saying defending factual information had become increasingly important.
Concluding his address, Erdoğan pledged to continue using the U.N. platform to speak for people he described as oppressed, aggrieved and voiceless.
“As long as God grants me life, I will continue to be the voice of the oppressed from this podium,” Erdoğan said. “We will not remain silent in the face of injustice, nor will we ever accept oppression.”
Erdoğan said the international community ultimately faced two paths: deeper uncertainty driven by fear, conflict and isolation, or a future built through justice, solidarity and collective action.
“Türkiye has chosen the second path,” he said.
Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia called for diplomacy to defuse mounting tensions across the Middle East, while condemning attacks on Saudi Arabia and reaffirming support for Palestinian statehood and Sudan’s territorial integrity following high-level talks in New York.
The foreign ministers of the four countries met Monday on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss regional and international developments, according to a joint statement released after the meeting.
The ministers stressed the need for closer consultation and coordination among their governments to promote peace, security and economic stability across the Middle East and the broader region.
Against the backdrop of continued hostilities, they said dialogue and diplomacy remained the only viable route toward a sustainable settlement and emphasized the importance of upholding the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as part of efforts to secure lasting regional peace.
The four countries strongly condemned attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including recent Houthi strikes, and expressed support for the kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
They also affirmed Saudi Arabia’s right to defend its territory and population in accordance with international law and the U.N. Charter, while stressing the need to protect freedom and safety of navigation in regional waterways.
On Yemen, the ministers backed the internationally recognized government and the Presidential Leadership Council, calling for security, stability and development to be pursued through a political process and an inclusive dialogue among Yemeni parties.
The Palestinian issue also featured prominently in the talks, with the four countries describing a resolution of the conflict as central to achieving lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.
They reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and backed the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Turning to Sudan, the ministers expressed support for the country’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity and emphasized the importance of preserving its legitimate national institutions.
They rejected the creation of parallel governing structures that could undermine Sudanese sovereignty and called for an end to the illicit movement of weapons, mercenaries and foreign fighters into the conflict-hit country.
The four foreign ministers agreed to maintain consultations and strengthen coordination on regional and international developments, with an emphasis on collective security and long-term stability.
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