Turkey committed to NATO but skeptical of alliance's future under incoming chief

Turkey has the second-largest standing army in NATO, but that hardly papers over the considerable differences between Ankara and its allies, as Ankara seems to be continuing to pursue strategic autonomy while remaining in the Western camp.

The alliance is facing new challenges and opportunities. These include the implications of a potential Trump presidency in the United States and what that might mean for the West’s support for Ukraine against Russia, the debates around the European allies’ strategic autonomy, and the potential emergence of an EU camp within the alliance. At NATO’s summit meeting in Washington on July 9-11, where member and guest countries’ heads of state and government celebrated the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s formation, these tensions were visible. The summit’s declaration specifically named Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” to NATO allies’ security and stated that China “continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security,” countries with which Turkey enjoys friendly relations.

The most pressing issue for Turkey at the NATO summit was its allies’ continued restrictions on arms sales and US support for the Syrian Kurdish groups that it considers “terrorists.” Experts and officials who spoke to Al-Monitor said that other issues will impact Turkey-NATO ties, among them plans to bolster European defense capabilities and foster security partnerships in the Middle East, the priorities of the upcoming NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the alliance’s stance against Russia and China.

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