Head of Communications Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Duran met with Ankara representatives of newspapers and television channels on 23 June 2026, within the scope of the 36th NATO Summit. The statements made at the meeting and the highlights are as follows:

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NATO AND THE CHANGING SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

NATO is one of the longest-lasting and most institutional security alliances, surviving since 1949. Throughout history, many alliances were established against certain threats, but when the threat changed, they either dissolved or lost their influence.

NATO’s difference lies in its ability to renew itself as the threat changes. NATO, which provided deterrence against the Soviet threat during the Cold War, took on new roles after the Cold War with its Balkans, terrorism and peacekeeping duties.

In the past, security was thought more in terms of borders, army, tanks, planes, ships and front lines. Security today; It also covers cyberspace, power lines, critical infrastructures, supply chains, public perception, disinformation and social resilience.

Today, it is transforming itself again in the face of conventional war, cyber threat, hybrid attacks and nuclear risks. Therefore, NATO’s power stems not only from its military capacity, but also from its ability to reproduce itself in every historical rupture.

Türkiye’S PLACE IN NATO

“Turkey is moving from the periphery to the center in NATO”: While Turkey was positioned as a front country on the southeastern wing of the Alliance when it joined NATO in 1952, today we see that this role has changed and Türkiye has moved from the periphery to the center in NATO. Türkiye is no longer just a country protecting NATO borders, but an ally in a central position in almost every issue concerning NATO.

“Türkiye is at the center of NATO’s 360-degree security approach”: Today, it would be a deficiency for NATO to focus only on threats from the east. Because threats no longer come from a single direction. The Russia-Ukraine War, the genocide in Gaza, and US-Iran tensions are the most significant crises facing NATO on multiple fronts.

“Türkiye is the actor that reduces tension in crises”: Türkiye’s approach is not to increase tension, not to deepen the conflict, and to open space for diplomacy. In this respect, Türkiye stands out as a country that has both deterrence and can keep diplomacy channels open.

“Safe Harbor Türkiye”: Türkiye under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; It has become an active actor on a global scale, taking decisive initiative in resolving crises, leading the establishment of diplomacy tables, striving for regional and global peace and assuming responsibilities in many areas from security to humanitarian aid. Under the leadership of our President, Türkiye stands out as a safe haven and is building a “Türkiye axis”.

NATO Land Command is located in Izmir, and NATO Rapid Deployment Corps Headquarters is located in Istanbul.

The Turkish Naval Task Force, led by TCG Anadolu, participated in the NATO exercise Steadfast Dart-26, which will extend to the Baltic in 2026.

There are commitments within the scope of Air Policing in Estonia (2026), Romania (2027) and Lithuania (2028).

IMPORTANCE OF ANKARA SUMMIT

The 36th NATO Summit, hosted by Türkiye, which is preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its NATO membership next year, is of critical importance for the future of the alliance and the future of the global security architecture.

“NATO Ankara Summit will make Türkiye’s diplomatic weight visible”: The 2026 Ankara Summit is not just a matter of hosting. A diplomatic scene showing Türkiye’s rising weight within NATO. The summit will make Türkiye’s military contribution, defense industry, crisis management capacity and leading diplomacy visible at the same time.

Ankara’s hosting of the Summit is also powerful in symbolic terms: NATO’s security map should be considered not only centered on Western Europe, but also in connection with Southern and Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East.

“Burden sharing is one of the main agenda items of the Summit”: The changing security architecture is pushing NATO Allies to re-evaluate their defense spending. In this context, Ankara aims to reach the 3.5 + 1.5 percent target by the end of 2030. The new concept expressed as NATO 3.0 discourse; It envisages a more capable and burden-sharing Alliance. Türkiye has supported this approach from the beginning.

“Türkiye’s domestic and national defense industry is also a force multiplier for NATO”: The Turkish Defense industry is an element that increases Türkiye’s strategic autonomy and contributes to the total capacity of NATO. Türkiye’s capacity in these areas is also important for NATO, as NATO will need not only the number of soldiers but also production capacity, technological flexibility and security of supply in the future.

Türkiye’s rise in the defense industry is a strategic force multiplier not only for our national security but also for NATO’s deterrence capacity.

Turkey therefore sees any restriction on the defense capacity of a NATO ally as a restriction on the overall deterrence of the Alliance.

“The Defense Industry Forum will become a part of the official program of the Summit for the first time”: The Forum, which was designed as a side event of the Summit in the last 3-4 years, became a part of the official program of the Ankara Summit for the first time.

“Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Foreign Ministers Meeting will be held”: Within the scope of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, which was implemented at the NATO Summit in Istanbul in 2004 and includes Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, a special session will be held at the level of foreign ministers and the NATO Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Foreign Ministers Meeting will be held.

“Turkey will host many international events in 2026”: It will host the NATO Parliamentary Summit in Istanbul on 28-29 June, the 13th Heads of State Meeting of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara in the autumn, and the 77th International Astronautical Congress and the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-31) in Antalya in October and November.

TECHNICAL AND NUMERICAL DATA ABOUT THE ANKARA SUMMIT

Our country; It will host 32 NATO member heads of state and government, as well as many invited leaders, nearly 100 ministers, many high-level diplomats, representatives of international organizations and thousands of foreign guests.

Nearly 3 thousand journalists, television crews, photojournalists, digital media representatives and international broadcasters from all over the world applied for accreditation to cover the summit.

A total of 56,288 security personnel will be assigned within the scope of the summit, of which 48,841 are Police personnel and 7,447 are Gendarmerie personnel. In addition, 639 personnel will be assigned to carry out virtual patrol activities in the cyber environment on a 24/7 basis in order to combat crime and criminals.

Within the scope of the summit, participants will be served at 3 airports: Ankara, Esenboğa and Mürted.

NATO summits are organized within the framework of a standard template determined by the NATO Secretariat, regardless of the host country.

The meeting between the leaders is held in a completely closed session and is conducted in a NATO-level confidential format.

The meeting is only opened to the press for a short time at the beginning. In this live broadcast section, a 1-2 minute pool footage is usually taken. In this section, the NATO Secretary General makes a brief statement on behalf of the Alliance and outlines the agenda of the summit, the topics to be discussed and the current situation.

ACTIVITIES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE

Media and Publication Activities: The Directorate of Communications established a NATO task force to carry out media and publication activities, accreditation processes, promotional activities, crisis communication and public diplomacy practices within the scope of the 36th NATO Summit.

500 people in the summit areas, including the Directorate of Communications and broadcaster TRT staff; It will work with a total of 850 personnel, 350 of whom will work within the scope of side events and crisis communication.

The broadcasting company TRT will serve under the coordination and responsibility of our Presidency; It will broadcast the summit to the whole world from 26 different points with 80 cameras.

Nearly 3,000 national and international press members applied for accreditation for the summit.

In the media center, there are approximately 1,600 work areas for press members in the Presidential National Library, nearly 100 live broadcast points, 54 of which are fixed, interview areas, studios, press mixers, directional signs, 40 editing rooms, announcement and broadcast screens (IPTV) and all related planning and infrastructure works are carried out in cooperation with the General Directorate of Administrative Affairs of the Presidency.

Press Accreditation: Press Accreditation will be carried out by NATO and foreign press members will stay in 7 designated hotels, be transported by 45 buses, and receive their cards from the accreditation center to be established in our Presidency.

Promotion Campaign: The entire outdoor campaign, designs and installation plans of the summit have been prepared. During the summit week in Ankara, promotions will be made in four different concepts at a total of 4,434 outdoor communication points (billboards, digital screens, etc.) throughout the city. These concepts will be messages for the NATO summit, Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency, defense industry products and the GoTürkiye (tourism promotion) campaign.

Public Diplomacy Activities:

On July 5, a dinner will be organized for press members in the context of gastro-diplomacy activities.

Round table meetings, panels, seminars and meetings with members of the press are held in the capitals of the alliance member countries. In this context, NATO-themed events have been held in 10 different capitals since March. The event series will be held in Budapest on 24 June, in Sofia on 25 June and in Vilnius on 1 July; It will be completed with 13 countries in total.

The “NATO Allies in Ankara” program will be held at Ankara Palace on 7-8 July, in cooperation with the Munich Security Conference and the Foundation for Politics, Economics and Social Research (SETA).

Book Studies: To be gifted to leaders who will attend the Summit; Three new books are being prepared to be distributed to media members, diplomats and senior civil-military state officials: Turkey’s Strategic Role in NATO, NATO Resilience in the Age of Rising Threats and a book containing the NATO speeches of our President at previous summits.

Crisis Communication Task Force: With the task force that will be established for communication-based risks and hybrid threats that may arise during the NATO Summit, coordination between institutions, especially the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, National Defense and the National Intelligence Organization, will be ensured under the coordination of the Directorate of Communications, for early detection, intervention and rapid information sharing of crises.

OTHER SIDE EVENTS HELD AT THE SUMMIT MARGIN

28–29 June 2026, NATO Parliamentary Summit (Dolmabahçe Palace)

6 July 2027, informal invitation for Allied Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors resident in Ankara to attend the Summit

6 July 2026, SAM-Chatham House Workshop

7 July 2026, panel series titled “NATO Ankara Summit Dialogues”

7-8 July 2026, SETA-MSC event titled “Allies at Ankara”

7-8 July 2026, Transatlantic Political Planners Roundtable Meeting

Regarding whether the legal regulations to be made within the scope of the Terror-Free Türkiye process will be completed before the end of the legislative period, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “I hope we will complete them as much as we can.”

Erdoğan answered the questions of the press members after his party’s Group Meeting held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. When asked whether the legal regulations to be made within the scope of the Terror-Free Türkiye process will be completed before the end of the legislative period, Erdoğan replied, “I hope we will complete as much as we can.”

When asked whether there would be a one-on-one meeting with US President Donald Trump, who is expected to come to Türkiye as part of the 36th NATO summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8, Erdogan said, “Most likely.”

When asked about Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s decision to quit smoking, Erdoğan said, “How nice. I wish I could make people in my country quit smoking too.”

TRUMP HAD ANNOUNCED PERSONALLY: I WILL VISIT Türkiye

US President Donald Trump announced for the first time that he will attend the NATO Summit in Ankara recently. Trump said, “I will go to Türkiye and visit China at a certain time this year.” he said.

US President Donald Trump said, “I will visit Türkiye,” pointing to the NATO Summit to be held on July 7-8.

This year, the 22nd search and rescue exercise, held every year in TRNC, was held in memory of Lieutenant Caner Gönyeli, who was martyred on the ‘TCG Kocatepe’ ship that sank with friendly fire during the Cyprus Peace Operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on 21 July 1974. Turkish and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) military and civilian elements have once again proven that they are always prepared for any situation, thanks to their coordination, planning abilities and ability to react in a short time. Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Libya, Gambia, Zambia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Somalia participated in the exercise as observers. The land phase of the exercise, in which the victims of a crashed plane were treated, was carried out yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) is participating in the exercise with 6 aircraft, 1 ship, 1 search and rescue team, the Ministry of Internal Affairs 6 aircraft, 1 ship, 3 search and rescue teams, and 5 search and rescue teams from the TRNC as well as aircraft and ships. A total of 14 aircraft, 13 ships and 9 search and rescue teams take part in the exercise. The drill was followed by national observers, especially TRNC President Tufan Erhürman.

GREEK PRESS: ANKARA DETERMINES NEW BALANCES
It was noted on the Greece-based Newsbeast website that the Ankara-Damascus-Beirut line could change the balance. It was emphasized that Türkiye increased its influence through Syria and Lebanon and that Ankara created a new equation for Israel. In the analysis, it was written that it became a decisive actor in the new balance of power in the Middle East.

The “New Communication Technologies and Family Panel” organized by the Directorate of Communications and the promotion program of the “New Communication Technologies and Parenting” book were held in Ankara with a wide participation. Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran, who hosted the panel, stated in his speech that technological concepts surround daily life and underlined that the awareness level of parents should be increased by saying, “The most challenging, most complex and even the most critical digital transformation project in this field takes place not in our institutions, but in our own living rooms.”

IN THE SAME HOUSE, ON A DIFFERENT SEAT
Arguing that one of the biggest paradoxes of the current age is “getting lonely while staying connected”, Duran referred to Sherry Turkle’s concept of “being alone together” and evaluated, “We can sit in the same house, on the same couch, and live in different digital universes.” Stating that parents sharing every moment of their children on social media may pose a digital identity problem for children in the future, Duran warned: “Every digital trace we create without our child’s approval is a decision we make on his behalf and a responsibility we bear. Our children’s privacy in the digital space has to be more valuable than our number of likes on social media.”

THE MOST BASIC NEED IS PARENTAL LOVE
Speaking at the opening of the panel, Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stated that the most basic need of children is parental love and said, “No screen can offer the warmth of the family table. No algorithm can replace the compassion of the mother and the guidance of the father. It is the bond between people and people that establishes the meaning of life.” Emphasizing that the protection of cultural codes has red lines, Minister Göktaş said, “Our fight against those who turn family values ​​into a rating material will continue.”

FAMILIES ARE OUR STRATEGIC STRENGTH
Burhanettin Duran stated that, as the Directorate of Communications, they support the production of alternative and clean content; He drew attention to the family-friendly contents of TRT Çocuk, TRT Genç and Tabi platforms. Duran said, “Our families, with strong internal communication and a healthy parent-child bond, are the most strategic power of our nation.”

The governance crisis in the Republican People’s Party following the absolute nullity decision has gained a new dimension. The power struggle between Özgür Özel, who spoke at the group meeting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who convened the Central Executive Board (MYK) at the headquarters, was also reflected in the provincial organizations.
Following the MYK meeting that started yesterday, CHP Antalya Provincial Chairman Nail Kamacı and CHP Kayseri Provincial Chairman Ufuk Ozan were dismissed. Hasan Şahin was appointed as the Antalya Provincial Chairman, and Okan Marzıoğlu was appointed as the Kayseri Provincial Chairman. It was noteworthy that Kamacı and Ozan, who were dismissed, were among the provincial heads who supported Özgür Özel during the absolute nullity process. The decision was interpreted as a new step of alignment within the party, as both names have recently given messages of loyalty to Özel and taken part in programs in Ankara with their organizations.
While it is being evaluated in the CHP lobbies that the Kılıçdaroğlu administration has started to liquidate names close to Özgür Özel in the party organizations, it is said that similar changes may occur in other provincial organizations in the coming days.

IBB Culture Inc. A new operation was organized in the investigation into the kidnapping of Deputy General Manager Erhan Karaal in Istanbul Maltepe on 17 June. Public Security Branch Directorate Extortion Bureau teams caught and detained Sedat A., Abdülkadir B., Ümit A. and Mazlum B., who were stated to be the key figures of the incident, in the villa where they were hiding in Çağırkan village of Kocaeli. 6 of the 12 suspects previously detained were arrested.

In the investigation, it was determined that the suspects used two vehicles and tried to cover their tracks by changing vehicles in Kayışdağı. In his statement, Karaal said that the people who introduced themselves as police officers and forced them into the vehicle first asked for the location of 300 kilos of gold, claiming that it was the safe of former IMM administrators Serdal Taşkın and Ekrem İmamoğlu, and then 500 kilos of gold, which they claimed were hidden in Erzincan.

IBB Culture Inc. Deputy General Manager Erhan Karaal was kidnapped from in front of his house in Maltepe on June 17 by people posing as police officers. Karaal, who was detained for approximately 36 hours, was tortured, and was rescued by a police operation on June 19.