A three-day summit marking the 75th anniversary of NATO is set to begin on Tuesday in Washington. The meeting will include the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is also commander-in-chief of the military alliance’s second-largest army, with the primary agenda expected to be the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Turkish media reports say Erdoğan will make a call to heads of state from the bloc to exert efforts to stop Israel’s massacres targeting Palestinians in Gaza and ensure permanent peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
Erdoğan uses every platform to voice Türkiye’s support of Palestinians against Israel, whose attacks have killed more than 38,000 people in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The president has been engaged in international diplomatic efforts in recent weeks, both for Gaza and Türkiye’s bilateral relations. The NATO summit will be the second gathering in weeks he has attended, after participating in a Kazakhstan summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The president will attend the main event of the summit on July 10 where leaders of 32 member states will be present and is expected to participate in a dinner U.S. President Joe Biden will host for visiting leaders. On July 11, a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting will be held at the summit. Erdoğan will also hold bilateral talks with participating heads of state. A meeting with Biden is also expected. It will be a rare in-person meeting between the Turkish and U.S. leaders in a long time.
Media reports say Erdoğan raised the issue of Gaza in his bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.
Erdoğan warned on Sunday against Israel’s intention to spread the conflict beyond Gaza. “Israel should stop dragging its feet to cease these massacres and end these inhumane attacks,” Erdoğan said. “It is essential that the international community, particularly Western countries, exert more pressure on Israel to that extent. Israel is the only side insisting on attacks and massacres. It is the only side violating human rights, trampling on international law,” he added.
Erdoğan denounced Israel for threatening Lebanon “to spread the conflict.”
“Israel should abandon this intention. Western countries, particularly the U.S., should stop giving support to Israel. Since day one, Türkiye sided with peace. Türkiye has the loudest voice in expressing opposition to the conflict and raises its voice on permanent peace that can be achieved through a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders,” he said.
Israel, flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
More than 38,150 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Türkiye joined NATO in 1952, three years after the establishment of the alliance. Initially rejected by other members, the country, which sought protection against the Soviet Union, was finally accepted after it pledged to send troops to support the United States in the Korean War. It hosts several military bases for the alliance and commands the second-largest army in NATO. Its relations with other NATO members, however, have not always been smooth. For instance, it is at odds with the United States for the latter’s support for the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, which it also recognizes as a terrorist group. Yet, it values the alliance in the era of growing conflicts.
Erdoğan told reporters last week that Türkiye expected NATO to strengthen its unity and maintain the spirit of solidarity and enhance it. “In global challenges, particularly terrorism, NATO needs an approach serving the security and interests of its members. Türkiye has been fighting several terrorist groups for years. It is worrying that our allies acted against NATO’s spirit of unity in this fight and left us alone in counterterrorism efforts. They even adhered to a stand encouraging terrorist groups,” he said, in a pointed reference to the U.S.
On Ukraine, Erdoğan is expected to reiterate Türkiye’s proposal to mediate between the sides. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has offered to create an international peace platform with the broad participation of various countries to resolve the conflict; an offer welcomed by the Kremlin.
Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been "a staunch supporter" of a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. "You know that President Putin is a staunch supporter of prioritizing diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the Ukrainian conflict. Of course, we have never refused to negotiate. On the contrary, we have always favored negotiations involving all interested parties. While there is no such platform currently, you can only agree with Mr. Fidan on this point," he said.
For Erdoğan, prolonging the conflict only plays into the hands of “some powers and countries in the West.” Erdoğan told reporters last week that their stance was almost a call for a new world war. “Arms dealers need a new market after all,” he said.
Erdoğan also stated Russia was supporting a peaceful solution and that the sides were “apparently tired.” The president stressed that it was now up to mediators to find a solution to the conflict and that Türkiye was playing a key role to that extent.
