What Türkiye Offers NATO, What It Wants in Return

The NATO summit in Ankara commences today, marking a critical juncture for the alliance's future. Discussions will center on the tangible outcomes of burden-sharing commitments from previous summits, emphasizing that increased defense spending alone is insufficient. The agenda prioritizes making burden-sharing strategic through joint procurement and defense-industry integration to resolve bottlenecks in areas like air defense and personnel capacity.

A key focus will be on a new framework to bridge the Europe-U.S. divide and ensure continued American engagement. This includes exploring the "Europeanization" of NATO through programs like the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) and addressing the implications for non-EU members such as the United Kingdom, Türkiye, and Norway. The summit will also reaffirm NATO's core mission of deterrence against Russia, with discussions on strengthening the alliance's eastern border and developing new mechanisms.

As the host nation, Türkiye's role and expectations are prominent. Türkiye positions itself not merely as a "flank country" but as a central actor in the southern flank's security. It highlights its capabilities as a defense industry producer and technology developer, contributing to NATO's security through its own capacity and diplomatic power. Türkiye's primary demands include the lifting of restrictions on its defense industry, greater participation in European security initiatives, and defense industry integration.