Türkiye continues to strengthen NATO’s readiness and interoperability while expanding military training and security cooperation with allies and partners, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, said the Turkish Armed Forces’ Multinational Joint Warfare Center Command contributes to NATO’s high readiness through advanced training, simulation and command-and-control capabilities.

Speaking at the ministry’s weekly press briefing at the command center, Aktürk said the facility operates in line with NATO standards and is equipped with modern communications and information systems fully integrated into the alliance’s network.

“With its experience and expertise, our command contributes to supporting NATO’s high level of readiness and continues its efforts to enhance interoperability among allies in line with the changing security environment, evolving concepts and growing requirements,” Aktürk said.

The center hosted the NATO Communicators Conference from Sept. 7-10, bringing together 542 communications specialists from 42 countries.

Aktürk said discussions focused on strengthening NATO’s strategic communications capabilities, increasing resilience against disinformation and improving coordination among allies. Participants also addressed changes in the information environment, developments in the cognitive domain and the effective use of artificial intelligence tools.

Türkiye this year marks the 74th anniversary of its accession to NATO and has the second-largest army in the alliance. It is the only country in NATO’s “southern flank” with a sizable military power and a gateway to the Middle East and wider Asia. Security of the Black Sea also largely depends on Türkiye, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which threatens maritime security.

The country currently contributes nearly 3,000 personnel, along with various weapons, vehicles and military platforms, to ongoing NATO missions, operations and initiatives.

Türkiye also hosts critical NATO facilities, including the Allied Land Command, located in the western city of Izmir, and the Rapid Deployable Corps, based in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, hosts the Center of Excellence for Defense Against Terrorism (COE-DAT).

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) this year joined NATO’s Steadfast Dart exercise in Germany on Feb. 12-24, held to improve the operational readiness of the Allied Reaction Force. The army contributed naval, land and air elements, including the Anadolu Task Group, and deployed a joint force of more than 2,000 personnel to Germany.

Moreover, the spokesperson said Türkiye’s armed forces were also continuing counterterrorism and border security operations.

Two more members of the PKK terrorist group surrendered over the past week, while Turkish security forces apprehended 790 people attempting to cross the country’s borders illegally and prevented another 887 from crossing, he said.

Since Jan. 1, authorities have apprehended 10,445 people attempting illegal border crossings and prevented 49,394 others, according to the ministry.

Libya cooperation

Aktürk said Türkiye was continuing to contribute to regional and global security through bilateral relations and international missions, particularly within NATO.

He said 362 Libyan military personnel from the country’s eastern and western regions had successfully completed basic commando training conducted by Türkiye’s 40th Commando Training Brigade Command.

Türkiye attaches “great importance” to Libya’s unity, territorial integrity and lasting stability and will continue developing relations with both eastern and western Libya under the goal of “One Libya, One Army,” the ministry noted.

Gaza, Lebanon

Turning to developments in the Middle East, Aktürk accused Israel of systematically continuing attacks on Lebanon and Gaza and forcing civilians to flee their homes.

He said more than 4,300 people had been killed and over 12,300 wounded in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2.

In Palestine, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since the latest cease-fire took effect, while the overall death toll since October 2023 has reached about 75,000, he said.

Citing the World Food Program, Aktürk said two-thirds of Gaza’s population was facing critical or emergency levels of hunger.

“We once again remind the international community that it has a shared responsibility to take concrete and effective measures against Israel’s expansionist and genocidal approach,” he said.

NATO drills continue

Aktürk also said the Turkish Armed Forces were maintaining extensive training and exercise programs to sustain operational readiness.

Türkiye is participating in several multinational exercises in September, including REPMUS unmanned maritime systems exercises in Portugal, Phoenix Express maritime security drills in Tunisia, Triton mine warfare exercises in Bulgaria and NATO’s Bold Machina maritime special operations exercise in Portugal.

Turkish forces are also scheduled to participate in the Endless Brotherhood-V special forces exercise in Uzbekistan and the Burebista and Eastern Shield air and drone defense exercises in Romania.

Aktürk said Türkiye would also deploy two F-16 fighter jets and a tanker aircraft for a Sept. 14 training flight in NATO airspace over Romania.

The flight will be conducted as part of NATO Allied Air Command’s Flexible Deterrence Options under the alliance’s enhanced vigilance activities.

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Justice Minister Akın Gürlek detailed his tenure since February at a meeting with court reporters in Istanbul on Wednesday. In remarks published on Thursday, Gürlek explained how his ministry has stepped up work on unsolved cases and has fought the perception of impunity in the public regarding cases where suspects are considered to have gotten away with their crimes.

Speaking to judicial reporters from Istanbul at the Justice Ministry in Ankara, Gürlek said the Cold Case Crimes Investigation Department was established to assist prosecutors in reopening and reviewing long-unsolved cases.

The unit provides coordination, information sharing and technical support to investigations conducted by chief public prosecutors’ offices, while judicial assessments and decisions remain under the authority of prosecutors, he noted.

“We have achieved good results,” Gürlek said. “It has been four months since the unit was established, and 40 cases involving 46 victims have been solved.”

Gürlek underlined the effort demonstrated that crimes could be solved even years later as investigative techniques and available evidence evolve, adding that resolving long-standing cases could strengthen public confidence in the justice system.

The minister also addressed the investigation into the 2009 helicopter crash that killed Great Unity Party (BBP) founder Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and five others.

Gürlek said the investigation remains under the authority of the relevant chief public prosecutor’s office, with the cold case unit assisting through coordination and case reviews. He declined to speculate on whether additional people could become subjects of the investigation, saying such decisions depended on whether sufficient legal grounds for suspicion emerged.

The minister also discussed an investigation into the 2011 death in prison of former National Intelligence Organization (MIT) officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu.

He said the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation after considering previous complaints and reports concerning Kozinoğlu’s death. Statements from a former prison employee who is currently abroad and faces legal proceedings over alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) later prompted additional investigative steps.

Investigators are examining several possible explanations for Kozinoğlu’s death, including poisoning, a heart attack, the effects of medication or natural causes, he added.

Gürlek cautioned against describing the death as a killing before the investigation is completed, saying all possibilities were being examined using forensic and scientific evidence.

The minister also said the ministry was continuing efforts against illegal betting, narcotics, money laundering, street gangs and online gambling, describing the government’s approach to organized crime as uncompromising.

Ahbap, Kuriş, FETÖ cases

Gürlek said investigators working on the Ahbap Association case had identified about $245 million (TL 11.88 billion) collected in connection with the Ahbap, while prosecutors were also reviewing complaints from people who said they had lent money, transferred property or received promissory notes.

“According to the findings in the Ahbap investigation, around $245 million was collected,” Gürlek said. “There are also complainants who say they lent money, transferred real estate or received promissory notes.”

He said prosecutors were still compiling and examining the allegations, including claims that some promissory notes were signed with commitments to repay money but the payments were never made.

Gürlek also addressed an investigation by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into an alleged criminal organization led by Alihan Kuriş, saying Türkiye had requested judicial assistance from Germany.

International judicial cooperation mechanisms are being used to determine the sources of certain transactions, the people involved and who had knowledge of them, Gürlek said.

“There are serious allegations that religious sentiments were exploited to provide a privileged and luxurious lifestyle for some people at the top,” he stressed, adding that prosecutors were examining the financial relationships and alleged criminal activity.

The minister emphasized Türkiye would continue operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which Ankara holds responsible for the failed July 15, 2016, coup attempt.

“The fight against FETÖ continues without compromise,” Gürlek said, adding that chief public prosecutors’ offices were conducting investigations into alleged new networks.

Gürlek said Türkiye was also pursuing extradition requests for suspects abroad and updating files when new evidence, documents or testimony emerged.

‘Terror-free Türkiye’ process

Turning to the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, Gürlek described Parliament’s approval of a 12-article framework law with about 467 votes as a significant step.

He said the legislation had not yet entered into force and that four subcommittees had been established as part of the process. Meetings were also being held under the leadership of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Gürlek said.

The law’s implementation depends on the terrorist organization fully laying down its arms and authorities verifying that the disarmament has taken place, he said.

Gürlek added that the process was being monitored by the National Defense Ministry and Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

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Özgür Özel, chairperson of the New Party (YP), which he founded after parting ways with the Republican People’s Party (CHP), lashed out at Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the incumbent chair of his former party. In an interview with broadcaster Koza TV on Tuesday, Özel, who was photographed warmly shaking hands with Kılıçdaroğlu at an event on Sept. 2, put away pleasantries as he talked about the latter at length.

Özel dismissed Kılıçdaroğlu’s earlier remarks about a potential future alliance and said the YP would not ally with “an illegitimate administration.”

In an interview on Tuesday, Kılıçdaroğlu had said that his party may ally with the YP in the next election. The veteran politician, who was branded a “traitor” by YP supporters after he was reinstated to his post by a court ruling, told Euronews that they were open to supporting the YP’s presidential candidate, former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, if he is eligible to run in the next election.

“Twenty-four hours is a very long time in politics,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, quoting former President Süleyman Demirel. “Political relations should be based on the country’s interests. Politics have no room for hostility,” he said regarding the possibility of an alliance with the YP, whose members fiercely resisted Kılıçdaroğlu’s return to the CHP chair.

“We stand with the opposition, but only with legitimate ones,” Özel was quoted as saying Wednesday. He branded the Kılıçdaroğlu administration an “appointed apparatus of the government.” Özel lost his post last May when a court ruled to annul his chairpersonship in connection with a criminal case in which Özel’s associates are accused of bribing delegates to vote for him against Kılıçdaroğlu. Özel, who resisted the evacuation of CHP headquarters after Kılıçdaroğlu was reinstated three years after his defeat in the intra-party election, has portrayed the verdict as politically motivated. Although he stopped short of doing so, Özel’s supporters in the CHP have openly branded Kılıçdaroğlu a “traitor” for accepting the reinstatement.

Özel said he was open to supporting other opposition parties but underlined that they were all “legitimate actors.”

“If I accept (Kılıçdaroğlu’s alliance proposal), it will give an air of legitimacy to (the current CHP administration),” he said.

He said his handshake with Kılıçdaroğlu was spontaneous and that Kılıçdaroğlu rose from his seat when he saw him and extended his hand in a way he could not refuse. He claimed that the CHP administration under Kılıçdaroğlu had made several proposals to him before May’s court verdict.

“They offered me the post of parliamentary group chair until the next intra-party election. I refused because people would think that we were involved in a plot that would play into the hands of the government,” he said. “I won’t take even one step with a butlan administration,” Özel said, using the Turkish word for absolute nullification.

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Kastellorizo, or Megisti, known as Meis in Turkish, a Greek island about 1 nautical mile off the Turkish coast, will allow Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to observe Türkiye with the naked eye and test the waters for room to improve relations with Türkiye and the potential for tensions in the Aegean Sea.

The two countries have been at odds over Aegean rights in recent months, with tensions escalating over Türkiye’s declaration of marine parks, including one near Kaş opposite Kastellorizo, and Mitsotakis’ warning that Greece may consider expanding its territorial waters in a move that could challenge Türkiye’s maritime borders.

“I think they’d hear us from Greece if we shout from Kaş,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told journalists earlier this month when asked how Türkiye would respond to Greece’s arming of the Aegean islands. At the time, it was unclear whether Mitsotakis would attend events marking the island’s liberation from Italian occupation in 1943 during World War II.

Although Türkiye and Greece are pursuing rapprochement after decades of hostilities, Greece’s expanding alliances, particularly with Türkiye’s rivals, and threatening rhetoric by Greek politicians have the potential to undermine efforts to improve ties. In parallel with Türkiye’s strengthening of its defense systems and establishment of new alliances, such as the Mecca pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Greece seeks to gain the upper hand. This was the case with a major defense deal signed with Türkiye’s archrival Israel last month. Mitsotakis, meanwhile, is conducting diplomacy with both rivals and friends of Türkiye. He has stepped up diplomatic contacts with Egypt and France and is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in October. He was in Egypt this week, where he held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi alongside Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides.

The Aegean Sea is at the heart of the rivalry between Ankara and Athens. Türkiye opposes any Greek military deployment on the eastern Aegean islands, arguing that they should remain demilitarized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. Greece, however, cites a “threat” from Türkiye and says it has the right under international law to defend its sovereignty. The two countries have recently been at odds over the declaration of marine parks intended to preserve marine biodiversity, with both accusing each other of attempting to violate their maritime borders.

“Greece should know that Türkiye has no intention of grabbing the territory of any other country, but Türkiye also has no intention of allowing anyone to violate its rights. Ignoring international treaties will not benefit anyone. Anyone who interprets Türkiye’s level-headed approach based on common sense as weakness is making a grave mistake. Greece should reverse course and stop arming demilitarized islands. History is a good guide for those who can learn from the past,” Erdoğan said in a recent interview, reminding Greece of the troubled past between the two countries.

On Wednesday, Türkiye marked the anniversary of the final push against Greek invaders more than a century ago during the Great Offensive, which ended with Greek soldiers withdrawing to vessels in the Aegean from Izmir, north of Kaş.

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The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesman Ömer Çelik called Thursday for an immediate end to the Russia-Ukraine war and a return to negotiations in Istanbul, warning that the conflict has become a grinding war of attrition with mounting risks for the Black Sea region.

Speaking at a news conference, Çelik said neither side had achieved a development capable of fundamentally changing the course of the war, while both Russia and Ukraine continued to inflict heavy losses on each other through tactical gains.

“War is bad in every respect,” Çelik said, pointing first to the loss of human life and warning of the possibility that the conflict could spread across a wider region. He also cited debates within NATO and the European Union over the war and concerns about the potential use of increasingly advanced weapons.

Çelik particularly condemned attacks on Turkish-operated civilian vessels in the Black Sea, saying eight had been targeted by Russia and 35 by Ukraine since the conflict began. Türkiye continues to convey its warnings and closely monitor the situation at the highest level, he added.

“This cycle must end as soon as possible, and a table must be set up in Istanbul so that a conclusion can finally be reached,” Çelik said.

Turning to Türkiye’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, Çelik said authorities were continuing their work on disarmament and maintaining intensive contacts with Iraqi counterparts. He stressed that developments inside Türkiye and across the wider region were closely interconnected, making cooperation with neighboring governments essential.

On Syria, Çelik said Ankara was closely following the integration process following the dissolution of the SDF. He stressed that dissolution and disarmament processes must translate into concrete developments on the ground rather than remain rhetorical commitments.

He said such steps were crucial to building a stable future for all communities in Syria, including Turkmens, Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites and Yazidis.

Çelik also sharply criticized the Israeli government over its policies toward Palestinians and across the region, arguing that the Netanyahu government remained a major source of regional instability.

He condemned Israel’s plans for new settlements, saying their strategic locations threatened to make a two-state solution impossible. Çelik also welcomed stronger opposition from Britain and the EU to Israeli actions.

He rejected the term “settler” for Israelis occupying Palestinian land, arguing they should instead be described as “occupiers” and accusing Israel of pursuing policies aimed at taking Palestinian territory.

Çelik also warned that the Netanyahu government could become increasingly aggressive as elections in Israel approach, calling on the international community to take concrete action to prevent what he described as an expanding cycle of violence stretching from Lebanon to Syria.

Addressing regional diplomacy, Çelik said the recently launched Mecca Agreement was not intended as an alternative to Türkiye’s existing security alliances. Instead, he described it as an initiative designed to produce more practical mechanisms for maintaining regional peace.

The initiative is open to all countries in the region, he said, adding that its principles would take time to develop but could eventually contribute to regional stability.

Çelik also addressed a recent meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, describing it as a “natural” meeting.

He said Yavaş had requested an appointment with Erdoğan and discussed Ankara’s problems and planned investments with the president. Çelik noted that Erdoğan regularly receives mayors when his schedule permits and remains particularly interested in infrastructure and projects aimed at improving living standards in Turkish cities.

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An unprecedented meeting between Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked speculation about the opposition politician’s political future. In a statement on Thursday, Yavaş defended the meeting amid a barrage of rumors spreading on social media that he would defect to Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

“The only agenda of the meeting was Ankara,” Yavaş said in a statement the day after the meeting. The mayor, who represents the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said he requested the meeting with Erdoğan as part of the official welcoming protocol at the capital’s airport last month.

Yavaş, a former member of the AK Party’s ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has been touted as a potential presidential contender in the next election since he ended the lengthy reign of AK Party Mayor Melih Gökçek in the 2019 local elections. At one point, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu considered him as a potential running mate in the 2023 presidential election, which he lost to Erdoğan. For the opposition, Yavaş is a strong presidential contender with the potential to attract conservative and nationalist voters who overwhelmingly support Erdoğan and the AK Party.

His muted response to the storm brewing in the CHP after Kılıçdaroğlu retook the party leadership following a court verdict that nullified Özgür Özel’s chairpersonship in May prompted rumors that he would defect to the AK Party. In his statement on Thursday, Yavaş indicated that he maintained ties with both the CHP and Özel’s New Party (YP), which he was expected to join after its establishment in July. Yavaş underlined that both Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu were notified about his meeting with Erdoğan, something Özel confirmed in an interview on Wednesday. The mayor stated that he spoke with Erdoğan about pending investments in the Turkish capital and problems facing the city, saying that he needed to discuss projects with “the central administration” to secure approval and support.

“I would like to make it clear to those trying to draw political conclusions from this meeting and create scenarios suggesting that I will switch parties: There is no possibility that I would take a stance that would hurt, upset or disappoint the people who love me, trust me and have stood by me for years. If this stance is considered a source of discomfort by the headquarters of either party, I will not hesitate to do what is necessary. However, to date, neither party leader has conveyed to me any statement indicating that they are uncomfortable with my stance,” he said.

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