Türkiye to warn allies over arms restrictions, anti-terror fight

Serkan Demirtaş – ANKARA

Türkiye will convey a clear message and warn NATO allies that arms restrictions between the allied nations will eventually weaken the collective security and the level of deterrence at the foreign ministers' meeting of the alliance in Prague on May 30 and 31.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will represent Türkiye during the two-day meetings which will focus mainly on the preparations for the leaders’ summit of NATO on the 75th anniversary of the alliance in Washington on July 9 and 11.

Fidan will highlight two priorities of Türkiye in the Prague talks, according to diplomatic sources. The first is the continued imposition of arms sanctions on Türkiye by some NATO allies, including Germany. Fidan will recall the decisions taken at NATO’s Vilnius Summit of 2023 which called on the member states to show unity and cooperation in the field of arms sales in line with the spirit of the alliance.

Fidan’s message will underline the fact that “all such sanctions and restrictions not only hurt the defense capacity of the concerned country but the alliance’s entire deterrence and security capacity.”

In addition, lifting all such restrictions and increasing cooperation in the field of defense among the alliance will also contribute to reaching NATO’s goal of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.

Fidan’s second message will be on terrorism, an issue Türkiye has been raising in almost all international platforms. Citing terrorism is listed as one of two fundamental threats by the alliance — Fidan will emphasize that NATO should increase its contribution to global counterterrorism efforts.

Türkiye is fighting with multiple terror organizations, including the PKK, its Syrian associate YPG and ISIL. Fidan will reiterate its plea to the allies to immediately abandon their partnerships with such terror groups.

Ankara has long been calling on Washington to bring an end to its partnership with the YPG in northern Syria under the pretext of fighting against ISIL. Ankara warns that the YPG is using support given by the United States for its efforts to divide Syria and establish its own entity in the eastern part of the country.

Türkiye is defending the southern flank of the alliance, where terrorism is a growing threat, and calling on NATO to prepare a holistic defense plan to address all challenges stemming from the southern borders of the alliance.