\n
![\"T\u00fcrkiye](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a4cebec7c43e629aa254b6b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n ANKARA
\n<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrkiye<\/a> on July 7 called for Europe to assume greater responsibility for its own defense while insisting that any new security initiatives must reinforce NATO<\/a>, as alliance leaders gathered in Ankara for a landmark summit.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said decisions taken at the summit would not only address immediate security challenges but also shape the Euro-Atlantic security environment for years to come.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Fidan said T\u00fcrkiye was ready to host NATO allies at what he described as a pivotal moment for the alliance\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Fidan said NATO\u2019s principle of collective defense remained at the core of the alliance, but argued that the strategic environment had become faster, more complex and increasingly multidomain.<\/p>\n \u201cTraditional benchmarks no longer reflect this reality,\u201d he said, arguing that deployable capabilities, industrial capacity and operational readiness had become the key measures of military strength.<\/p>\n He stressed that Europe must make a stronger contribution to the alliance\u2019s defense, but said restrictions on defense-industrial cooperation were undermining efficiency and slowing responses to security threats.<\/p>\n Those restrictions, he said, had become \u201ca strategic burden.\u201d<\/p>\n Fidan also called for European defense initiatives to fully include all NATO allies, saying the challenge was not only how to respond to threats but how to organize cooperation in line with today\u2019s security realities.<\/p>\n Defense Minister Ya\u015far G\u00fcler echoed that message, saying the alliance needed to become \u201cstronger, more realistic and more balanced,\u201d with Europe assuming greater responsibility for conventional defense while preserving the indispensable transatlantic link and the United States\u2019 extended deterrence.<\/p>\n G\u00fcler said the war in Ukraine continued to shape Euro-Atlantic security, while the recent conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States demonstrated how regional crises could rapidly produce global consequences.<\/p>\n Pointing to changes in the U.S. military posture in Europe, G\u00fcler said the adjustments highlighted the need to rebalance responsibilities within the alliance.<\/p>\n He said T\u00fcrkiye had maintained large, professional armed forces and continued investing in its defense industry and operational capabilities while many European countries reduced their militaries after the Cold War, giving Ankara a strategic advantage that allowed it to contribute immediately when needed.<\/p>\n On the future of European security, G\u00fcler welcomed stronger European defense efforts but warned they should strengthen NATO rather than compete with it.<\/p>\n He said European security initiatives should remain open to all capable NATO allies that are not members of the European Union.<\/p>\n