Politics
Experts see Ankara NATO summit as chance to reshape alliance
Experts speaking at a panel in Washington on Thursday said Türkiye’s growing strategic role within NATO has become increasingly significant, adding that the alliance’s upcoming summit in Ankara could help redefine NATO for a new geopolitical era.
The event, titled “The Turkish-American Alliance at the Heart of NATO’s New Geopolitics,” was organized by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) and moderated by Kadir Üstün, executive director of SETA in Washington.
The panel came ahead of the 2026 NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara, marking the second time that Türkiye will host a NATO summit following Istanbul in 2004.
Communications Director Burhanettin Duran delivered a video message at the beginning of the panel.
“In our 74-year journey with NATO, we have faced many challenges and difficulties. Each time, in keeping with the principle of mutual loyalty, we have managed to overcome these tests,” Duran said.
“With its geostrategic position, military capacity and deterrence capabilities, our country has been an indispensable central state in NATO’s collective defense architecture and a geopolitical balancing factor from the Cold War to the present day,” he added.
Duran also said that Türkiye’s hosting of the NATO heads of state and government summit on July 7-8 is highly significant in terms of reflecting the spirit of the alliance and Türkiye’s weight within it.
‘First steps’ for new era
During the panel, Cağrı Erhan, chief advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, framed the summit within a longer arc of alliance transformation.
“As during the conditions in the early 1950s, the United States and Türkiye will play the leading role for this new era of transformation,” he said.
“The upcoming summit in Ankara will witness the first steps for the brilliant future ahead.”
James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Türkiye and a Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute, said Türkiye has played a decisive role across every major security challenge in recent years.
“Türkiye, along with the United States, has played the decisive role in all of the huge security issues over the past few years, from Ukraine through the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Balkans and in the Middle East,” he said.
“Türkiye has done at least as much as the United States to secure the NATO realm, which extends, obviously, because it’s Türkiye’s borders, into the Middle East.
“This summit offers us a great opportunity, but it is only the capstone of ongoing conversations between Türkiye and the United States in a larger NATO context,” he added.
Defense industrial shift
Rich Outzen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, pointed to growth in the U.S.-Turkish defense industrial relationship.
“The new paradigm is Türkiye makes good enough stuff that there’s actually U.S. companies that want to buy it,” he said, citing collaboration in maritime and shipbuilding, drones and artificial intelligence.
He argued that the two countries share a capability that few NATO allies can match.
“The combination of combat experience, industrial capacity and an engineering capacity to put those things into the field is pretty hard to achieve,” he said, calling the U.S. and Türkiye “the engines of real hard power deterrence and real hard power capability for the alliance.”
“There’s some issues with NATO cohesion, there’s some issues in the bilateral relationship, but the trend is good,” he added.
Roger Kangas, an advisory board member at the Caspian Policy Center, said the Ankara summit could help NATO shed what he called “unintentional baggage” about its global role and refocus on core capabilities.
He suggested that Türkiye may need to serve as a bridge between diverging allies.
“Türkiye may have to be the responsible adult in the room and bring some of these warring parties together … and have them come to an agreement on how the organization can move forward,” he said.
Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has dismantled an international espionage network accused of collecting sensitive information on Turkish civil society, ethnic groups and public officials for foreign intelligence services, security sources said Saturday.
In a statement, sources said nine individuals linked to two foreign intelligence services were identified during long-term intelligence operations.
Seven suspects, including the alleged network leader identified as B.E., were detained in coordinated raids across four provinces in an operation conducted with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and counterterrorism police units.
Two additional suspects were already in custody on unrelated charges.
Judicial authorities ordered the arrest of the seven suspects on espionage charges following their interrogation.
Security sources said the group systematically gathered and transmitted sensitive data abroad, targeting individuals and organizations inside Türkiye. Officials said the network operated for an extended period while attempting to conceal its activities from detection.
According to investigators, the operation followed sustained surveillance efforts, including physical tracking, cyber monitoring and technical intelligence work.
Authorities said they mapped communication channels, payment flows and reporting structures used between the suspects and foreign handlers.
Sources said the suspects believed their activities remained undetected, but intelligence analysis ultimately exposed the network’s structure and operational methods.
The investigation not only identified individuals involved but also revealed how the alleged foreign intelligence operation functioned within Türkiye, including its targeting priorities and coordination mechanisms.
The sources described the operation as part of ongoing efforts to protect national security and counter covert foreign intelligence activities.
Authorities said the evidence gathered is also being used to analyze the methods of foreign intelligence services operating in the country.
The investigation is ongoing.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday called for greater coordination across the Turkic world in light of regional crises, warning that regional conflicts and emerging digital threats make closer cooperation essential for shared security and prosperity.
Speaking at the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Kazakhstan, Erdoğan said the conflicts across the region have proved once again the strategic importance of solidarity among Turkic states.
“The crises in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Ukraine and many others indicate that we need to strengthen our defense and increase our cooperation in the industrial sector,” he told counterparts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The OTS was established in 2009 under the Nakhchivan Agreement as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States before adopting its current name in 2021. Headquartered in Istanbul, the OTS also has four observers: Hungary, Turkmenistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Economic Cooperation Organization.
Erdoğan said that transportation and connectivity projects, particularly the Middle Corridor linking East and West, would remain strategic priorities for OTS.
“As the crisis centered on the Strait of Hormuz shows today, transportation projects connecting the Turkic world, especially the Middle Corridor, will continue to be our priority for many years to come,” he said. “As Türkiye, we are ready to share the experience we have gained in the defense industry, which we have shaped with high technology, with the members of our organization.”
Cybersecurity cooperation
Erdoğan described cybersecurity as a critical pillar of national security, warning that artificial intelligence and digitalization are creating new vulnerabilities.
“Cyber security is vital and essential in today’s world, just like security on land, in the air, and at sea,” he said.
“We must be vigilant against the new risk areas brought about by artificial intelligence technologies,” Erdoğan added, citing threats targeting databases and critical national infrastructure.
He said Türkiye plans to prioritize deeper cybersecurity coordination during its upcoming term chairing the organization.
“During our next term as chair of the Organization of Turkic States, we aim to further advance coordination and cooperation in the field of cybersecurity,” he said.
AI vision
Erdoğan said Turkic states should embrace artificial intelligence and digital transformation as an opportunity rather than a threat.
“It is time for us to add the expression ‘unity in digital vision’ to Gaspıralı’s motto of ‘unity in language, thought, and work,’” he said, referring to the prominent Crimean Tatar intellectual Ismail Gaspıralı.
“This vision should be built upon a foundation of qualified human resources, strong digital infrastructure, and a data-driven approach to public administration,” Erdoğan said.
He warned that falling behind in technological transformation could weaken national independence.
“To prevent artificial intelligence from becoming a tool of domination, we must approach this theme with the right perspective, viewing it as an opportunity.”
Erdoğan also called for stronger digital connectivity and joint technology initiatives among Turkic nations.
“We believe that the Turkish language model, which will make the richness of our common language visible in the digital world, and similar artificial intelligence-based initiatives should be supported,” he said.
Common Turkic alphabet
Erdoğan highlighted cultural integration as one of the key pillars of cooperation within the Turkic world.
“It is important that the Common Turkic Alphabet is used in a wide range of areas, from education to culture, from academic cooperation to digital transformation,” he said.
He also welcomed UNESCO’s designation of Dec. 15 as “World Turkic Language Family Day,” describing it as “a shared success for all of us.”
The “Common Turkic Alphabet” is a Latin-based writing system developed through cooperation among Turkic-speaking countries to promote closer linguistic, cultural and digital integration.
The framework, agreed upon by linguists and language institutions under the Organization of Turkic States in 2024, includes 34 letters designed to represent sounds shared across Turkic languages while accommodating national differences.
Several member states, including Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, already use Latin-based alphabets, while Kazakhstan has been transitioning away from Cyrillic in recent years.
Turkish police detained 12 suspects on Friday as part of an expanding corruption investigation targeting alleged irregularities in municipal tenders linked to Istanbul’s opposition-run metropolitan municipality, prosecutors said.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the detentions were tied to an investigation into what authorities described as an “organized crime network” allegedly connected to Ekrem Imamoğlu who was suspended from his post as Istanbul metropolitan mayor and jailed.
According to prosecutors, investigators examined six tenders carried out by the municipality’s European Side Road Maintenance and Repair Directorate and the Electronic Systems Directorate under the municipality’s Information Technologies Department. Authorities alleged that the tenders were manipulated through a “fictional and irregular bidding system” designed to interfere with public procurement procedures.
Police carried out simultaneous raids in Istanbul, Kırklareli and Trabzon provinces, detaining 12 suspects. One additional suspect was found to be abroad, prosecutors said.
Among those detained were senior municipal officials, including a department head, branch managers, engineers, technicians and representatives of private construction companies allegedly involved in the tenders, according to Turkish media reports.
The suspects were taken to police headquarters for questioning.
The prosecutor’s office said the investigation focused on allegations of bid-rigging and misconduct in public tenders allegedly conducted under the authority of departments affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
The corruption investigation into was completed with the preparation of a 3,809-page indictment on Nov. 11, 2025.
In the indictment, former Mayor Imamoğlu is identified as the alleged “leader of a criminal organization” and is accused of several offenses, including establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes, bribery, laundering criminal proceeds, fraud involving public institutions and organizations, recording personal data, illegally obtaining and disseminating personal data, concealing criminal evidence, obstructing communications, damaging public property, receiving bribes, publicly spreading misleading information, extortion, laundering assets derived from crime and rigging tenders.
On the same day, authorities separately announced another operation targeting alleged bribery and permit irregularities in Istanbul’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)-run Üsküdar district municipality.
In that investigation, seven suspects were detained over accusations that municipal officials demanded financial benefits from contractors and intermediaries during occupancy permit and construction licensing procedures, prosecutors said.
Investigators alleged that officials identified irregularities in construction projects and then sought payments in exchange for approving permits. Authorities claimed the payments were made through cash transactions, company accounts and other financial channels.
The latest operation follows an earlier investigation launched in April into alleged bribery related to occupancy permits in the Uskudar municipality. During raids conducted in Istanbul and Yalova provinces on April 7, police detained 22 suspects, including Üsküdar Deputy Mayor Filiz Deveci and municipal company executive Nazım Akkoyunlu.
Nine suspects, including Deveci and Akkoyunlu, were later arrested pending trial, while others were released under judicial supervision.
As corruption investigations widened across Türkiye, police carried out an early morning operation on Friday targeting the CHP-run Merkezefendi Municipality in the western province of Denizli, detaining five people, including the deputy mayor.
Turkish authorities said the operation was part of an investigation into alleged corruption within the municipality.
Participants in the Sumud Land Convoy, including dozens of Turkish volunteers, expect to reach the blockade-ravaged Gaza Strip within five to six days, Turkish activist Davut Daşkıran said, as the multinational humanitarian mission moves forward from western Libya.
Daşkıran, speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) from Zawiya, about 40 kilometers (around 25 miles) west of Tripoli, said the convoy has gathered more than 300 activists from around 30 to 35 countries, with Türkiye among the most represented.
“There are around 50 activists from Türkiye,” he said, noting participation from countries including Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, the United States and others.
He said the convoy was delayed by shifting conditions on the ground and logistical coordination across multiple countries.
“We have been in a camp area in Libya for about a week,” he said.
Daşkıran said the convoy is carrying medical aid, ambulances and containers intended to provide basic living space for families in Gaza.
“We have containers with us to take to Gaza, where a family can live comfortably,” he said.
He said 25 containers were prepared through Turkish contributions, alongside three ambulances and medical supplies.
He added that even if entry into Gaza proves difficult, organizers aim to deliver the aid and continue humanitarian pressure.
The convoy must also pass through Libya’s fragmented security landscape and travel onward through Egypt, requiring flexible planning.
“We are planning to stop and set up camps in certain areas,” Daşkıran said.
He said Turkish participants have played a leading role in organizing the mission, noting that Türkiye is among the countries with the highest participation.
“Türkiye is the country with the largest number of participants here,” he said, adding that visa and logistical issues reduced initial Turkish applicants.
He said the convoy uses smaller vehicles for mobility, with up to 50-100 vehicles expected.
Daşkıran described the effort as part of wider international activism aimed at drawing attention to Gaza’s humanitarian situation and maintaining global pressure for access and aid delivery.
Previous land-based aid convoys and solidarity missions have attempted to reach Gaza through Egypt over the past decade, including earlier “Sumud” and “Viva Palestina” initiatives, but most were halted or diverted before crossing into the enclave due to security, logistical, or diplomatic obstacles.
A similar “Sumud Convoy” in 2025 also sought to travel overland toward the Rafah crossing but was stopped in Libya amid coordination and access challenges.
Organizers say no recent large-scale land convoy has successfully reached Gaza in full as planned, with most efforts instead being partially delivered or blocked before entering the territory.
Most recently, the Global Sumud Flotilla 2026 Spring Mission was intercepted by the Israeli army off the coast of Crete.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), ahead of the bloc’s informal summit in Kazakhstan’s city of Turkistan, diplomatic sources said Friday.
The meeting brought together foreign ministers from member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), before leaders convene for the informal summit hosted by Kazakhstan.
According to sources from Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry, Fidan took part in discussions held in preparation for the summit, which is expected to focus on regional cooperation, economic integration and political coordination among Turkic nations.
Foreign ministers from Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, along with the OTS secretary-general, attended Friday’s meeting.
Discussions mostly focused on cooperation in trade, energy security, connectivity, digital transformation, culture and education, as well as current regional developments, particularly the situations in Iran and Gaza.
During the meeting, the importance of enhancing the international standing of Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was also stressed.
The OTS was established in 2009 under the Nakhchivan Agreement signed by Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States before adopting its current name in 2021.
Headquartered in Istanbul, the organization has five member states, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and four observers: Hungary, Turkmenistan, the TRNC and the Economic Cooperation Organization.
The summit in Turkistan comes as member states seek to deepen cooperation in areas including trade, transportation, energy and regional connectivity.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that work on a new law regulating the country’s maritime jurisdiction areas is aimed at defining responsibilities in Turkish waters and addressing gaps in domestic legislation, while reaffirming Ankara’s determination to protect its maritime rights and interests.
Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said the proposed legislation would serve as a framework law concerning Türkiye’s maritime authority zones.
“The law is intended to define responsibilities within our maritime jurisdiction areas and eliminate deficiencies in our domestic legal framework,” Aktürk told reporters during a weekly press briefing at the ministry.
It was previously noted that the draft bill would define special entities to determine maritime jurisdiction, maritime borders and the scope of any activities within these borders and that those entities would be valid under verdicts by international courts and international laws.
He said the ministry had contributed to the draft on military, technical, academic and legal levels, adding that final work on the text was continuing among relevant state institutions.
“The Turkish Armed Forces will continue, as always, to resolutely protect our country’s rights and interests in maritime jurisdiction areas,” Aktürk stressed.
The remarks come amid ongoing regional disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea over maritime boundaries, energy exploration and sovereignty issues.
Aktürk also provided details about Türkiye’s expanding defense diplomacy and military exercises.
SAHA 2026, EFES-2026
He said Defense Minister Yaşar Güler held 20 bilateral meetings during the SAHA 2026 defense industry fair, held on May 5-9 in Istanbul, and signed military and defense cooperation agreements with two countries.
The exhibition brought together more than 1,700 companies from 120 different countries. Throughout the week, over 150,000 visitors attended SAHA Expo 2026, which lasted for six days. More than 30,000 defense industry professionals and purchasing representatives from all over the world attended the event.
Türkiye hosted one of the world’s largest defense and aerospace exhibitions, during which Turkish defense industry manufacturers showcased their new-generation, domestically developed and produced weapons systems.
Furthermore, Turkish companies have signed nearly $8 billion (TL 363.20 billion) in export contracts during the first three days of the major defense trade show,
Aktürk also remarked that more than 10,000 personnel from 50 countries were participating alongside Turkish forces in the EFES-2026 military exercise, conducted under the command of the Aegean Army.
The exercise includes air assault operations, mixed-unit breaching drills and a parachute “flag jump” activity featuring the flags of participating countries and the EFES-2026 banner.
According to the ministry, 50 weapons and defense systems are being used for the first time during the exercise, including the Panter howitzer, Karaok anti-tank weapon, special-purpose tactical armored vehicles and the Karayel-hulled boat.
A defense industry exhibition showcasing Turkish-made military technologies is scheduled to open on Friday in Seferihisar, near Izmir, ahead of the Distinguished Observer Day events planned for May 20-21.
The Turkish Stars aerobatics team is also expected to perform an air show on May 21.
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