Allies before the first Trump: Erdogan met with NATO Secretary General
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Ankara on April 21-22, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yashar Guler. The parties discussed Turkey's preparations for the "historic" summit of the alliance, which will be held in the capital of the republic on July 7-8, against the backdrop of discord between the allies on both sides of the Atlantic. Ankara plans to use the upcoming summit to strengthen the unity of its allies and advance its role in the defense of Europe. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
There's a lot to learn.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte began his two-day visit with a visit to the Turkish state-owned aerospace corporation TUSAŞ, which develops and manufactures aviation and space technology, including drones, combat aircraft and helicopters, and the largest Turkish defense corporation ASELSAN. It specializes in the development and manufacture of advanced military electronics, communications systems, weapons, and radar.
"It is not enough just to have money, it is necessary to have production facilities in the defense industry," Rutte said. He praised Turkey's successes in the production of military equipment, calling them a "defense industrial revolution," and also stressed that the military-industrial complex of the alliance countries "can learn a lot from Turkey."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a visit to the ASELSAN Corporation plant
The North Atlantic Alliance is preparing to review the processes of production and supply in the defense industry of the bloc. NATO is being pushed towards this by the Ukrainian conflict and the war in the Middle East, a source close to the Turkish Defense Ministry told Izvestia.
At the NATO summit, which will be held in Ankara on July 7-8, they plan to hold a separate discussion on the defense industry, as was the case at the previous meeting of the leaders of the bloc's member countries in The Hague.
They don't let you turn around
Recently, Turkey has made significant progress in the defense sector, meeting the needs of the alliance. However, Ankara is unhappy that the European Union is developing its own defense initiatives and procurement mechanisms, excluding leading non-EU NATO members, primarily Turkey and the United Kingdom. In particular, the Republic of Turkey does not have access to the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) defense investment assistance fund.
For this, Brussels has repeatedly criticized Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler. He insists on strengthening collective defense, believing that alternative projects harm the unity of the alliance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Rutte to help him remove these barriers.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister Hakan Fidan and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting in Ankara
"Maintaining transatlantic ties is of paramount importance to us, Turkey expects greater responsibility from the European wing of the alliance, and excluding European allies who are not members of the European Union from EU defense initiatives will not serve its purpose," the head of state warned.
He added that Turkey is daily increasing its potential in the defense industry, especially in the field of air defense systems, and is committed to further developing cooperation with allied countries in this area.
Another topic of the talks was the issue of protecting the southern flank of the alliance. During the recent escalation in the Middle East, Turkish air defense systems have repeatedly shot down Iranian ballistic missiles, which demonstrated the vulnerability of the region.
Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems of the Turkish Armed Forces
In early April, it became known that the Turkish Defense Ministry intends to establish a new multinational NATO headquarters in Adana to strengthen the alliance's southern flank. Therefore, the parties plan to discuss future cooperation with the countries of the Persian Gulf and strengthening the architecture of collective defense in the southern direction.
Unity of the Alliance
The NATO Secretary General, in turn, at the last meeting tried to get the key to the unity of the alliance from the Turkish leader. According to a source in Turkish diplomatic circles, the main purpose of the talks is to demonstrate community and solidarity against the background of internal disagreements within the bloc and ensure the success of the NATO summit in Ankara.
The Turkish authorities have already called the upcoming forum "perhaps the most important in the history" of the alliance, promising to seriously prepare for it. The unity of NATO is really at stake, which has been shaken by the aggravation of contradictions between the United States and the EU.
One of the main intrigues of the future forum is whether US President Donald Trump will attend it. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that despite the American leader's reluctance to participate in multilateral meetings, he may visit Ankara "out of personal respect for President Erdogan." "We consider the close personal contacts between the two leaders to be an important diplomatic resource," a source in diplomatic circles explained. Trump acknowledges his friendship with Erdogan, calling him "a tough nut to crack who built a strong country and a strong army."
US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a photo session at the Peace Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. October 13, 2025
However, his participation remains questionable, since Rutte could not appease the obstinate American leader, angered by the lack of proper help from the alliance's allies in the war with Iran. Trump's resentment of the EU has not gone away.
Against the backdrop of an emerging split within the alliance, the European Union, Britain and Canada began discussing the contours of a "European NATO" behind closed doors for the first time, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier, citing sources. In particular, they are working on scenarios in which they will assume the main defense functions that are traditionally assigned to the United States.
Now the NATO structure is built around American leadership in various fields, from logistics to intelligence. The Europeans are trying to strengthen their own structures within the alliance. As Finnish President Alexander Stubb noted, this is not about replacing Washington, but about shifting the burden from the United States to Europe, as well as insurance against the unpredictability of the head of the White House.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum this weekend, called Turkey a potential participant in a possible unification. At the same time, according to the Foreign Minister, it is unlikely to be "some kind of radically new structure," in any case, it will be an aggressive bloc.
Together against the Russian Federation
The West is actively trying to draw Turkey into an anti-Russian alliance, Vladimir Avatkov, head of the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the INION RAS, professor of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy at MGLU, said in an interview with Izvestia.
— The main goal is to separate Turkey economically from Russia, and for this, sabotage is constantly being carried out on the Turkish Stream, on our nuclear power plant and on the Turkish economy as a whole. They need to separate Turkey from Russia and draw it into a new proto—alliance, which is currently being formed in the European Union with Ukraine," the expert explained.
Russian compressor station, part of the gas pipeline system to ensure gas supplies for the Turkish Stream
If this is not achieved, they will try to "throw Turkey into a war with Israel" in order to plunge it into a zone of chaos, the political scientist added.
"The Americans do not need an independent Turkey, they need Turkey either controlled, or provoking chaos, or as part of an arc of instability," the analyst concluded.
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