Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on NATO allies to remove restrictions on defence cooperation, urging greater inclusion of Ankara in European defence initiatives.
“Restrictions among allies on defence cooperation, especially in the defence industry, must be lifted,” Erdogan said while addressing the opening of the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara.
He said; “At a time when a model of cooperation based on common sense and reason is possible, excluding allies that are not members of the (European) Union would lead to artificial divisions in Europe.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside Erdogan, said he would lift sanctions on Turkey and decide on a potential sale of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, although both moves are expected to face opposition in Congress.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest Army, has become a major developer and exporter of military equipment.
Despite Ankara’s repeated calls to participate in European security initiatives such as the SAFE funding scheme, it has remained excluded because of political and policy differences.
Erdogan said; “Turkey remains on course to meet NATO’s target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2030.”
He said that the country has allocated an additional $24 billion to its “Steel Dome” air defence project to strengthen NATO’s air and missile defence capabilities.
Erdogan also urged allies to take greater responsibility for the alliance’s collective defence while preserving NATO’s unity.
Reuters
