Politics
Member for 74 years, Türkiye stands out in NATO with its contributions
As NATO charts a future with rebalancing ties with its main founder, the United States, Türkiye figures heavily into this future as a major contributor to the international alliance. On Wednesday, it will mark the 74th anniversary of joining the body, three years after its foundation.
Along with Greece, Türkiye joined the alliance in the latter’s first move to expand membership. Today, NATO has 32 members and Türkiye stands out among them with the second-largest army in the alliance. Its capabilities in the defense industry, contributions to the alliance’s operations and missions bring Türkiye to the spotlight at a time of heightened tensions across the world.
Türkiye’s recent leaps in the local defense industry attract attention among NATO countries. Türkiye hosts more than 3,500 defense companies, a stark contrast to about 2,800 companies in 29 NATO member countries. Battle-tested unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVS) manufactured by Turkish companies in particular earned a worldwide reputation. Türkiye currently holds a 65% share in the global UAV market. Between 2020 and 2024, Türkiye ranked 11th in the world in defense exports.
The country’s strategic location also makes it an indispensable ally at the forefront of combat against security risks. The active role of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in counterterrorism also makes Türkiye one of the most experienced armies in NATO in field work. Elsewhere, Türkiye is the top contributor to NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), which it currently leads.
Among 32 allies, Türkiye ranks seventh in contributing to the alliance’s budget. Its total contribution is expected to amount to 300 million euros (just over $355 million) this year and to rise to 620 million euros in 2030.
Currently, the TSK is taking part in NATO’s biggest exercise this year, Steadfast Dart 2026. Some 2,000 Turkish troops, the largest Turkish military presence in Europe since Ottoman times, are participating in the exercise that will conclude on Feb. 20. Along with troops, the locally-made TCG Anadolu naval vessel is participating in the exercise. NATO’s Media Information Center on Monday highlighted Türkiye’s contribution to the exercise with a focus on Turkish medical units. “The unit is providing vital, wide-ranging medical support during the exercise (in Germany).
“The Turkish Medical Unit, part of the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, can deliver immediate life-saving medical care in operational areas, including the management of trauma, gunshot and blast injuries, airway emergencies, severe bleeding, and other critical conditions. The specialized personnel within the unit are trained to initiate advanced medical treatment rapidly in austere and high-risk environments,” the center said in an article published on its website.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Türkiye is the only non-EU top contributor of European Union peacekeeping force, EUFOR Althea. Since July 2025, Türkiye also chairs the command of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF), Amphibious Task Force and Landing Force.
Türkiye adds strategic value to NATO not only through its critical role on the alliance’s southeastern flank, but also by providing access to the Black Sea, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
With its military, Türkiye makes a significant contribution to NATO’s deterrence and serves as an important part of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Its geographic proximity to regional crises greatly enhances NATO’s rapid response capability.
NATO also provides significant support for Türkiye’s defense. Alliance membership strengthens Türkiye’s military modernization and international cooperation opportunities, while intelligence sharing and early warning systems support Türkiye’s national security.
Although it has started courting NATO’s traditional rivals more in recent years, Türkiye is firmly aligned with the alliance, as its leaders repeatedly confirmed.
An international survey by the Pew Research Center published in 2024 found that Turks had a favorable view of the military alliance. Although unfavorable views of the bloc were higher than favorable opinions (at 46%), 42% of people interviewed for the survey favored it, a considerable rise from 18% support in the first edition of the survey in 2011.
Initially rejected by some members, the country, which sought protection against the Soviet Union, was finally accepted after it pledged to send troops to support the United States in the Korean War.
Türkiye also hosts critical NATO facilities, including Allied Land Command, which is located in the western city of Izmir, and Rapid Deployable Corps, which is based in Istanbul. In the capital, Ankara, it hosts the Centre of Excellence for Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) and the Partnership for Peace Training Center. Istanbul hosts the NATO Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (MARSEC COE).
Turkish authorities detained 38 suspects in two separate investigations, including a renewed probe into the 2009 helicopter crash that killed politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and an espionage investigation involving the country’s financial intelligence agency, said Justice Minister Akın Gürlek on Friday.
Gürlek said 33 people were detained in a second wave of operations linked to the crash that killed Yazıcıoğlu, founder of the Great Unity Party (BBP) and five others.
Judicial proceedings were launched against 47 suspects, 10 of whom were already in prison. Authorities were searching for four others, Gürlek said. Police carried out simultaneous searches and seizures at 45 locations across 16 provinces in the Ankara-based operation.
The investigation is being coordinated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office with support from Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Ankara police.
Authorities suspect the individuals of involvement in premeditated murder in connection with activities attributed to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and of committing offenses intended to prevent the circumstances surrounding the crash from being uncovered, according to Gürlek.
Yazıcıoğlu and five others were killed when their helicopter crashed in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş on March 25, 2009.
Investigators are examining allegations that search-and-rescue operations after the crash were deliberately misdirected, false information reports were prepared and witnesses and confidential witnesses were manipulated.
In a separate operation on Friday, authorities launched judicial proceedings against 22 suspects as part of what prosecutors described as a “political or military espionage” investigation involving the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
Five suspects were detained in simultaneous operations centered in Istanbul and also conducted in Ankara. Arrest warrants were issued for 16 suspects believed to be abroad, while authorities continued searching for one other suspect, Gürlek noted.
The investigation focuses on alleged unauthorized activity involving MASAK’s Integrated Financial Intelligence System (EMIS) and the security of its records.
Prosecutors say they have identified links between individuals and companies involved with developing and maintaining MASAK’s digital infrastructure between 2012 and 2018 and what authorities describe as FETÖ’s clandestine network.
Investigators found that EMIS software had been developed by AGMLAB A.Ş. since 2012 and identified corporate and management links between AGMLAB, MRD A.Ş. and Barış Ata A.Ş., a company previously shut down by government decree, Gürlek said.
Authorities allege some shareholders held senior roles in clandestine networks associated with the military, information technology, defense industry and gendarmerie.
Technical examinations also found that safeguards protecting a list of politically exposed persons had been disabled, after which searches involving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his relatives and several ministers were carried out, according to Gürlek.
Investigators also identified possible irregularities in the integrity of some records and indications that certain data fields may have later been deleted. Gürlek said administrators’ activities could not be retrospectively audited because relevant system logs had not been maintained.
A former MASAK deputy chair was among the 22 suspects targeted in the investigation.
The minister said authorities would continue both investigations.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stepped up Türkiye’s diplomatic outreach in New York on Thursday, meeting senior EU and foreign officials while joining international talks focused on Libya’s political unity, security and economic future.
Fidan attended the “International Support for Peace, Unity and Prosperity in Libya” meeting on the sidelines of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
Officials from Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., France, Italy, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia also joined the meeting, which focused on the U.N.-led political process in Libya as well as the country’s economic prosperity and security.
Addressing the gathering, Fidan stressed that stability and security in Libya were important for the wider region and said Türkiye would continue to actively contribute to efforts in this direction.
Referring to his Aug. 11-12 visit to Libya, during which he held talks in Tripoli and Benghazi, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s support for efforts to establish a unified government under Ankara’s “One Libya” policy.
He called on international partners to maintain dialogue with all Libyan parties and actors without discrimination and stressed the need to support a political process led and owned by Libyans.
Fidan also highlighted Türkiye’s capacity-building assistance aimed at unifying and strengthening Libya’s economic and security institutions, saying Ankara was prepared to play a key role in the country’s development and security.
Alongside the Libya talks, Fidan met EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at the Turkish House. The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced the meeting but did not provide details about the discussions.
Fidan separately met EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
His diplomatic engagements also included separate meetings with Bosnia-Herzegovina Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic and Brunei’s Prince Abdul Mateen.
Turkish Cypriot officials on Thursday condemned remarks by Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, while reiterating their support for a two-state solution to the decades-old Cyprus dispute.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said he strongly condemned Christodoulides’ remarks about Erdoğan and highlighted that the Greek Cypriot leadership is presenting a distorted account of the island’s history.
“If hypocrisy is to be sought in Cyprus, the address is clear: the Greek Cypriot leadership and those who unconditionally applaud it,” Üstel said in a written statement.
Üstel argued that the roots of the Cyprus dispute lay in the breakdown of the power-sharing Republic of Cyprus established in 1960 and the exclusion of Turkish Cypriots from the government in the 1960s.
He also cited violence and displacement experienced by Turkish Cypriots between 1963 and 1974 and defended the continued presence of Turkish troops on the island as a security guarantee for the Turkish Cypriot community.
The Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry separately condemned Christodoulides’ U.N. address, accusing him of making “baseless allegations” against Türkiye and ignoring the experiences of Turkish Cypriots during the conflict.
The ministry also rejected renewed calls for a federal settlement, arguing that decades of negotiations based on that model had failed because the Greek Cypriot side had not accepted the equal status of Turkish Cypriots.
It said a lasting settlement could instead be achieved through recognition of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people.
The statements followed Erdoğan’s address to the 81st U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he reiterated Türkiye’s position on Cyprus and called on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and establish diplomatic, political and economic relations with it.
Recently, Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides met under U.N. auspices in the United Nations Protected Area in Nicosia (Lefkoşa), discussing confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues related to the decadeslong Cyprus dispute.
The United Nations described the talks as a “good discussion” and said the two leaders would brief U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on their work and discuss the way forward during upcoming engagements in New York.
Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot leadership advocate a two-state settlement based on sovereign equality, while the Greek Cypriot side supports a bizonal, bicommunal federation under U.N. parameters.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan denounced Israel’s policies in Gaza and its occupation and annexation activities across Palestinian territories as he addressed mounting conflicts and crises across the Muslim world at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in New York.
Fidan addressed the OIC Annual Coordination Meeting of Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly.
In his remarks, Fidan criticized Israel’s continuing “genocidal policies” in Gaza, as well as its occupation and annexation activities across Palestinian territories and attacks on Syria and Lebanon.
He also discussed a range of other issues affecting the Muslim world, particularly developments involving Iran, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.
Fidan emphasized the importance of the OIC’s role in protecting the rights of Muslim minorities and communities.
Türkiye currently holds the rotating presidency of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers after assuming the role at the 51st session, which it hosted in Istanbul on June 21-22, 2025, under the theme “The OIC in a Transforming World.”
The annual coordination meeting, held during U.N. General Assembly week, provides OIC foreign ministers with an additional opportunity to exchange views beyond the organization’s formal Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, which is held annually.
The council may also convene extraordinary sessions to address major developments affecting the Muslim world.
At the 51st Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul, OIC members adopted two resolutions on Palestine and emphasized the importance of establishing a common position among member states on the Palestinian issue. The meeting also adopted the Istanbul Declaration.
Türkiye previously hosted meetings of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in 1976, 1991 and 2004.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Kyiv supports Türkiye hosting a trilateral leaders’ summit aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, saying Ukraine would be ready to attend if such talks could help deliver peace.
Zelenskyy made the remarks after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Turkish House, or Türkevi, in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Describing the talks as productive, Zelenskyy said Erdoğan told him Türkiye was prepared to host a trilateral meeting at the leaders’ level.
“If the president can organize such a meeting, we support the idea of holding it in Türkiye,” Zelenskyy said. “We have always said that we have good relations with Türkiye and the president. Therefore, we would be ready to attend such a summit if it can be useful and bring peace.”
Türkiye has maintained diplomatic channels with both Ukraine and Russia throughout the war and has repeatedly offered to host negotiations aimed at securing a settlement.
Zelenskyy also highlighted growing economic ties between Ankara and Kyiv, noting that Ukraine’s Parliament had ratified the bilateral free trade agreement.
“We decided to increase trade between our countries from $1 billion to $10 billion,” he said. “We are moving in that direction and have very good results.”
The two leaders also discussed security in the Black Sea, which Zelenskyy said remains critical to global food security.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş resigned from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in an announcement on Wednesday, saying, “I am resigning my membership in the Republican People’s Party and will continue my political path as an independent.”
In a statement on social media, Yavaş said his decision to leave the CHP was not made out of anger or resentment but after careful consideration.
He noted political and legal disputes that began on March 19 and later included debate over the possible annulment of CHP party congresses had brought Turkish politics to a difficult point.
Yavaş said he had sought throughout his tenure to demonstrate a model of municipal governance in Ankara based on transparency, accountability and equal treatment, while using public funds for the benefit of residents.
He also said he had never viewed himself as being above political parties and argued that any democratic change of government in Türkiye would depend on opposition parties finding common ground rather than becoming consumed by internal disputes.
The mayor underlined that he had repeatedly warned that months of political and legal disputes within the CHP risked creating deep divisions in the party and could damage broader confidence in democratic politics.
“I had previously said that if there was discomfort within the party regarding me or the position I had taken, I would do what was necessary,” he said, adding, “Because of some statements made today, I am resigning my membership in the Republican People’s Party and will continue my political path as an independent.”
Yavaş also thanked CHP members and supporters who had worked alongside him during three election campaigns, saying he would remain grateful to those who had supported and placed their trust in him.
CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also commented on Yavaş’s decision to leave the party. “A resignation is a unilateral decision. It is his own political choice,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
Moreover, CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı responded to Yavaş’s resignation from the party, describing the decision as Yavaş’s own political choice.
“A resignation is a unilateral legal act. The mayor has therefore exercised his own will and clarified his political affiliation,” Sarı said.
Sarı said the CHP would have preferred Yavaş to continue his political career within the party, noting that party officials had expressed that position on several occasions.
“We would have preferred him to remain in politics within the institutional framework of the Republican People’s Party,” Sarı said. “But this is his own assessment.”
Sarı had previously criticized Yavaş over what he described as questions of party loyalty, saying the CHP’s institutional identity should take precedence over individual politicians.
“The CHP’s institutional identity is above all of us and comes before all of us. No one is above the CHP, and no one should see themselves as being above the CHP,” Sarı said.
He added that the party expected all of its mayors to participate in events and activities related to the CHP.
Sarı had also criticized Yavaş after the Ankara mayor said both CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and New Party (YP) leader Özgür Özel had been informed about his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“A mayor cannot say, when taking an action, that he informed the leader of another party in addition to his own party leader,” Sarı had warned.
Mayors follow Yavaş
Four district mayors in the Turkish capital Ankara also announced their resignations from the main opposition CHP shortly after Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş said he was leaving the party to continue his political career as an independent.
The mayors of Beypazarı, Kalecik, Güdül and Polatlı announced their decisions separately on social media, with several saying they would continue to work alongside Yavaş.
Beypazarı Mayor Özer Kasap said he was leaving the CHP and would continue serving as an independent, stressing that his priority remained providing services to residents of the district.
“I stand behind the promises I made to my fellow citizens who trusted and supported me on this path we embarked on with Mayor Mansur Yavaş.”
Kalecik Mayor Satılmış Karakoç also said he would continue his mayoral duties as an independent while maintaining his political alignment with Yavaş.
Karakoç stated his approach to local government would remain unchanged and that he would continue serving residents regardless of their political views.
“Our responsibility toward Kalecik will not change,” he said, adding that he would remain alongside Yavaş.
Güdül Mayor Mehmet Doğanay cited disagreements with the CHP’s current leadership and an ongoing political and legal dispute within the party as reasons for his resignation.
Doğanay said his decision did not represent a break with the CHP’s historical legacy or the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye and the CHP.
He said he would continue working with Yavaş while serving Güdül as an independent mayor.
Polatlı Mayor Mürsel Yıldızkaya similarly announced that he was leaving the CHP, citing issues raised by Yavaş in his own resignation statement.
Yıldızkaya said he would continue his political activities and municipal work independently alongside Yavaş.
-
Economy3 days agoTürkiye’s Oyak plans foreign energy partnership, more IPOs ahead
-
Economy3 days agoSaudi Arabia reportedly restarts East-West oil pipeline
-
Economy3 days agoTürkiye sees over 10% rise in trade with US this year: Minister
-
Politics2 days agoTürkiye commemorates Muslim Turks killed in 1821 Tripolitsa massacre
-
Politics3 days agoGreek party leader targets Turks in provocative remarks
-
Politics3 days agoTurkish Cypriot leader heads to NY in push for tangible talks
-
Economy3 days agoŞimşek tells US investors Türkiye economy resilient despite shocks
-
Politics3 days agoAK Party leads in 3 recent Türkiye polls, New Party ranks second