Politics
Türkiye, Britain sign strategic pact to deepen alliance
Türkiye and the United Kingdom on Thursday signed a Strategic Partnership Framework Document during Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to London, marking a significant step in deepening ties between the two NATO allies.
The agreement, signed by Fidan and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the first day of Fidan’s two-day visit, aims to strengthen the existing strategic partnership and broaden cooperation built on close bilateral dialogue.
In a joint statement, the two countries described the document as a “solid foundation” for enhancing collaboration between allies that share “a historic friendship, excellent bilateral relations, and a common perspective on a wide range of international issues and global challenges.”
The statement emphasized a shared commitment to security and stability, particularly in the Middle East, and highlighted the growing importance of NATO in an evolving geopolitical landscape.
“NATO’s Strategic Concept, as well as its core tasks of deterrence and defense, will continue to form the basis of our cooperation in ensuring Euro-Atlantic security,” the statement said, adding that strong transatlantic relations remain essential for peace and stability in Europe.
Expanding trade
The framework also confirms both countries’ intention to boost bilateral trade and investment, including ongoing negotiations to update their existing Free Trade Agreement. Officials say a more comprehensive deal is expected to support joint economic growth and reflect changing global economic conditions.
Cooper underscored Türkiye’s importance on the global stage, describing it as “an indispensable partner for global security” in a post on social media. She added that the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation as NATO allies while strengthening economic ties to promote shared prosperity.
Fidan’s visit comes amid a period of intensified engagement between Ankara and London, with high-level contacts increasing in recent months. The growing momentum in relations has been particularly visible in defense and trade.
Defense industry
One of the most notable developments has been Türkiye’s agreement to purchase 20 Eurofighter fighter jets, alongside efforts to finalize a new free trade deal. The Eurofighter jets are produced by a multinational consortium including British firms, and the deal reflects expanding defense industry cooperation between the two countries.
Türkiye is also exploring additional acquisitions of Eurofighter aircraft from Qatar and Oman, which, if completed, would significantly expand its fleet.
Beyond defense, both sides aim to deepen cooperation in key sectors such as energy and the broader economy. As two NATO members outside the European Union, Türkiye and the UK share similar strategic positioning, which has further encouraged closer alignment, particularly after Britain’s departure from the EU.
Post-Brexit framework
Following Brexit, Ankara and London moved quickly to safeguard trade by signing a provisional agreement covering goods in 2020. Current negotiations seek to replace that deal with a more modern and comprehensive framework. Officials confirmed that the fourth round of talks was completed in March, signaling steady progress.
Diplomatic sources said Fidan’s agenda in London also includes preparations for an upcoming NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara on July 7-8. His visit follows recent talks in Ankara with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Recent bilateral engagement has extended across multiple levels of government. Defense ministers Yaşar Güler and John Healey met in London in March, while Trade Minister Ömer Bolat held talks earlier this year to advance free trade negotiations.
Despite growing cooperation, both countries face shared challenges in their relations with the European Union. Applications by Türkiye and the U.K. to participate in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, a 150 billion euro ($175 billion) defense financing initiative, were rejected. The issue is expected to feature prominently at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
Regional and global security issues also featured prominently in Fidan’s discussions with his British counterpart. Talks addressed ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides emphasizing the importance of diplomacy.
Türkiye has reiterated its support for dialogue to end the war in Ukraine, offering to host direct negotiations and provide assistance to both parties. The issue remains a key priority in Ankara’s diplomatic efforts.
Developments in the Gulf were also discussed, including proposals by Britain and France to establish an international force to ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Türkiye has similarly stressed the importance of maintaining open transit through the strategic waterway.
Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is expected to discuss further organizational changes at a key executive board meeting on Friday, amid continuing tensions following a court ruling that reinstated former Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
According to Turkish media reports citing party sources, nearly 10 provincial party chairs could be dismissed during the meeting as the leadership moves to consolidate control over the organization.
The reports also claimed that CHP parliamentary group chair Özgür Özel could be removed from his post.
The leadership has repeatedly stressed that it will not tolerate what it describes as a dual power structure or disciplinary violations within the party following the court’s “absolute nullity” ruling, which returned Kılıçdaroğlu to the party leadership.
Since the ruling, the CHP has dismissed 36 provincial chairs, while 11 others have reportedly been referred to the party’s disciplinary board over statements and actions directed at the new leadership.
Media reports said provincial organizations in Trabzon, Afyonkarahisar and Rize are among those expected to face leadership changes at the latest meeting.
The reports also said appointments could soon be made to fill a number of provincial chairmanships that have remained vacant following previous dismissals.
Party officials are also expected to begin restructuring district organizations after changes at the provincial level are completed. According to the reports, newly appointed provincial chairs will oversee appointments at the district level, while local officials accused of undermining the party leadership could face disciplinary proceedings.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Friday strongly condemned a resolution adopted by the European Parliament criticizing Türkiye’s 1974 Peace Operation in Cyprus, accusing the assembly of distorting historical facts and acting in line with Greek Cypriot narratives.
In a written statement, the TRNC Foreign Ministry rejected the resolution, saying it misrepresented Türkiye’s 1974 military operation while unfairly targeting both Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people.
The ministry argued that Türkiye launched the operation on July 20, 1974, under its rights and obligations as a guarantor power stemming from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, following a coup carried out on July 15, 1974, by supporters of union with Greece. It said the operation not only ensured the safety of Turkish Cypriots but also prevented mass killings on the island.
The statement criticized the European Parliament for ignoring atrocities committed against Turkish Cypriots while making “baseless accusations” against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
According to the ministry, the resolution would serve only to reinforce what it called Greek Cypriot propaganda aimed at misleading the international community.
The ministry also noted that female lawmakers from the TRNC Parliament had sent letters to the relevant European Parliament committee before the vote, disputing claims contained in the draft resolution and seeking to present what they described as the realities on the island. Despite those efforts, the resolution was adopted, which the ministry said demonstrated that European Union institutions had lost their impartiality on the Cyprus issue and were acting as advocates for the Greek Cypriot side.
The ministry said decisions that disregard the will of the Turkish Cypriot people, ignore their inherent rights and deliberately distort realities on the island are “null and void” from the TRNC’s perspective and carry no legitimacy.
It also called on the European Parliament to abandon one-sided approaches, refrain from using the Cyprus issue as a political tool, and respect both the current realities and historical facts on the island.
Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) remained the country’s most popular political party in a June opinion poll conducted by research company GENAR, maintaining a nearly 8 percentage-point lead over the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
According to a report by Sabah newspaper, the survey, conducted with 2,200 respondents across all 81 provinces, asked voters which party they would support if a parliamentary election were held this Sunday.
According to the poll, the AK Party received 36.2% support, while the CHP stood at 28.3%.
The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) ranked third with 9.2%, followed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) at 8.1%, and the Good Party (IP) at 7.1%.
The New Welfare Party (YRP) received 3.8%, while the Key Party (AP) and Victory Party (ZP) recorded 2.5% and 2.1%, respectively. The Workers’ Party of Türkiye (TIP) received 1.3%, with other parties collectively accounting for 1.4%.
GENAR said the results suggest that the current balance among Türkiye’s major political parties has remained largely unchanged despite recent political developments.
“The June survey shows the AK Party leading with 36.2%, while the CHP remains at 28.3%,” the polling company said in its assessment.
According to GENAR, the findings indicate that the country’s political landscape has not experienced a major realignment and that the hierarchy among the leading parties remains broadly intact.
The company also said the main opposition CHP’s recent internal political turmoil has not yet been fully reflected in voter preferences.
Türkiye’s main opposition has been plunged into a deepening leadership crisis after a court annulled the party’s 2023 congress, setting off a power struggle between reinstated former Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and ex-Chair Özgür Özel amid clashes at party headquarters and growing uncertainty over who will ultimately lead the opposition.
Attention is now shifting to how and how quickly the CHP can resolve the dispute, with rival camps sharply divided over the timing and format of an eventual congress that could decide the leadership question.
A pistol with the name of the recipient engraved on its barrel and a leather-bound book were among the gifts handed to each head of state and government who attended the NATO summit in Ankara this week, media outlets reported.
A photo shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda confirmed the reports. It shows Gümüşay (Silver Moon), Türkiye’s first locally made revolver, included in an elegant wooden box, next to a paper box containing apparently live bullets.
A German government spokesperson told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) on Wednesday that Merz’s revolver had been handed over to the German Embassy so that it could be properly imported and then inventoried in the collection of official gifts. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier told reporters about the gifts on his flight home from the summit, according to reports by The Guardian and the Press Association news agency. Starmer said Erdoğan had given all leaders at the summit a similar present, with each weapon engraved with the recipient’s name. Despite a note from Erdoğan waiving export controls, Starmer left his revolver in Türkiye to be decommissioned, as importing it would have breached the U.K.’s strict gun laws, the reports said.
Media outlets reported that Erdoğan also gifted a book entitled “The Politics of Courage: Erdoğan and the Rise of Türkiye,” published by a foundation bearing his name, to leaders. The book recounts Türkiye’s contemporary political history, landmark decisions, challenges, reforms and long-term ambitions through the lens of President Erdoğan’s political life, according to a statement by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a series of bilateral meetings with Balkan leaders on Thursday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, focusing on defense cooperation, regional stability, trade and Europe’s security architecture.
Erdoğan met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic during the second day of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, hosted by Türkiye.
According to the Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan and Rama discussed bilateral ties and regional issues as NATO leaders gathered in the Turkish capital for alliance talks. The meeting at the Presidential Complex was attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın, AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and senior presidential adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç.
The Ankara gathering marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye after the alliance’s 2004 summit in Istanbul. The meeting has also served as a platform for bilateral talks between allied and partner countries on political, security and economic cooperation.
During his meeting with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Erdoğan said strengthening NATO’s European pillar remains important and stressed that European Union defense initiatives should complement the alliance, according to the directorate.
The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in trade, investment, energy and transportation. Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s efforts to support diplomatic solutions to the wars in Ukraine and Iran, while emphasizing Ankara’s continued push to help end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and promote regional stability.
In talks with Spajic, Erdoğan said Türkiye was committed to further deepening bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade, investment, tourism, the defense industry and security.
Erdoğan also welcomed the role of the Balkan Peace Platform, launched under Türkiye’s initiative, describing it as an important mechanism for addressing issues including border security, energy and transportation across the region. He said he expected the platform to contribute to lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans.
Türkiye, which joined NATO in 1952, used the Ankara summit to reinforce its role within the alliance while advancing bilateral ties with regional partners through a series of high-level diplomatic engagements.
All eyes were on Türkiye this week as heads of state and government from around the world convened in Ankara for the NATO summit. The summit is expected to have many repercussions in the coming days, but one thing is certain: Türkiye is an able host and its diplomatic efforts pay off.
The summit also marked the first time that U.S. President Donald Trump visited the country since he took office, and was an occasion to showcase rapidly improving bilateral relations.
A key meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Trump and the ensuing summit were a demonstration of the “leader diplomacy” Türkiye pursues under the leadership of Erdoğan and of how the country emerged as a global actor in diplomacy.
Through talks with Trump, Türkiye secured a pledge for the lifting of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, the acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and engines for Türkiye’s locally made Kaan jet. Elsewhere, the Turkish defense industry signed substantial defense deals, especially with the United Kingdom. Free trade negotiations were launched with Canada, while Germany decided to give a shot at acquiring long-range missile systems produced by Türkiye. Türkiye’s call for NATO allies to lift defense restrictions also made its way to the final declaration of the summit.
The event was also an occasion for Erdoğan to hold bilateral talks with leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Erdoğan also held talks with top EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.
Trump in Ankara
Although every guest was treated with Turkish hospitality, perhaps none were given a welcome as special as the one for Trump.
The official aerial stunt team of the Turkish army put on an air show as the U.S. president arrived at the Presidential Complex, after leaving an airport refurbished to accommodate a large number of guests arriving for the summit.
Türkiye, which has been a staunch ally of the U.S. for decades, saw relations deteriorating under the previous administrations in Washington. It was seeking to improve ties under Trump, and it apparently paid off. As Trump lashed out at other NATO members, he had only kind words for Erdoğan and Türkiye.
Erdoğan welcomed Trump at the airport’s tarmac, and the two leaders walked arm-in-arm, stopping for a chat at times, before walking to the airport lounge. Images of Erdoğan and Trump beaming as they engaged in a warm conversation were among the symbols of evolving relations between the two countries. In their remarks during the summit and afterwards, both referred to each other as “dear friends,” while Trump promised to drop sanctions against Türkiye, six years after he imposed them in his first term.
The relationship grew even brighter over the two-day summit that ended on Wednesday. Trump said he was willing to sell Türkiye F-35 fighter jets, though later he said he had not totally made up his mind and repeatedly praised Erdoğan, with whom he shared smiles, laughs and embraces as they communicated via translators.
For many diplomats, Türkiye’s single biggest challenge had been ensuring that the U.S. leader would even attend the annual gathering of 32 NATO leaders, even though he had not yet missed a summit.
Trump, who has long said that NATO allies are not pulling their weight, said he only attended because Erdoğan was the host. That itself marked a diplomatic success and an opportunity for Türkiye, which wants to boost its stature within the bloc and also overcome longstanding issues with Washington.
“It was valuable that Trump emphasized the importance he places on me and our friendship,” Erdoğan said as the summit closed. “I thank my dear friend once again.”
A day after his warm bilateral talks with Erdogan, Trump on Wednesday threw the summit into disarray as he demanded the U.S. cut trade ties with Spain and reiterated his claims on Greenland, irking NATO ally Denmark. He later said there had been love and “a lot of unity” at a leaders’ meeting, bringing some relief to a trans-Atlantic defense bloc wary of an unpredictable U.S. president who has questioned the alliance’s value.
Sitting alongside NATO head Mark Rutte, Trump went out of his way to defend Erdoğan against sharp criticism from another U.S. ally and regional power: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned this week against selling F-35s to Ankara.
At an earlier meeting in front of reporters, Trump drew a thumbs-up from Erdogan when he said he would lift U.S. sanctions on Türkiye over its 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems, and he signalled a willingness to sell the F-35s blocked by those sanctions and other U.S. laws.
Ankara has sought these steps for years even as it stood by the S-400 purchase, which at the time had upset the U.S. and other NATO allies.
The progress, even if mostly rhetorical, comes weeks after a U.S. court concluded a years-long criminal case against Turkish state lender Halkbank, which Erdoğan had called unjust.
Erdoğan on Wednesday hailed the summit for laying the “foundation of a stronger NATO.”
He described it as a “historic” gathering that will help shape the alliance’s future at a time of heightened security challenges across the Euro-Atlantic region.
“We have successfully concluded our NATO summit, which we hosted in our country for the second time in 22 years and for the first time in our capital, Ankara,” Erdoğan said at a news conference following the conclusion of the summit.
He said the meeting came at a critical moment for Euro-Atlantic security and would have lasting significance for the alliance.
“This historic summit, which we hosted at a time when Euro-Atlantic security is being tested, has been conducted in a manner that will shape our common future,” he said.
Erdoğan said Türkiye has had to contend with regional crises and terrorism for decades without benefiting from the post-Cold War “peace dividend” enjoyed by many European countries.
“There were times when we were left alone and treated unfairly. Therefore, we often had to rely on our own capabilities,” he said.
He noted that those efforts have enabled Türkiye to surpass many NATO allies in defense spending, military capabilities and the strength of its defense industry.
“Today, in terms of defense spending, military capabilities and the defense industry that underpins them, we are well ahead of many allies,” Erdoğan said.
The president added that NATO leaders reviewed the implementation of commitments made at last year’s summit in The Hague and reaffirmed Türkiye’s plans to further increase its contributions to the alliance.
Türkiye’s role in NATO
Highlighting Türkiye’s military role within NATO, Erdoğan said the country commands the alliance’s second-largest land force and has long served as the cornerstone of security on NATO’s southeastern flank.
“We currently command NATO’s second-largest land army. For decades, the security of NATO’s southeastern flank has largely been entrusted to our country,” he said.
He said Türkiye remains among the leading contributors to NATO operations, missions and common funding, adding that Turkish F-16 fighter jets will be deployed to Estonia beginning in August as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission.
Erdoğan also said Türkiye will continue leading the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) until September 2026 and is scheduled to command the NATO Response Force in 2028-2029.
Highlighting Türkiye’s defense industry, Erdoğan said the country is among the few NATO members capable of producing its own fighter aircraft, tanks, naval vessels and air defense systems.
He added that Türkiye has become a global leader in unmanned aerial vehicles, naval drones and warship production while also supplying defense products to allied nations.
Erdoğan reiterated that EU defense initiatives should complement NATO, rather than duplicate its efforts.
“The European Union’s defense initiatives must complement NATO and avoid unnecessary duplication. I draw the attention of our allies and the EU leadership to this important point at every opportunity and in every forum,” he said.
Erdoğan also renewed his call for the removal of remaining restrictions on defense trade among NATO allies.
“Although some obstacles to defense industry trade among allies have decreased, they still exist. These restrictions must be removed as soon as possible, without conditions,” he said.
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