NATO approves Turkey's official name change to 'Türkiye'

One of NATO's oldest member states, Turkey, has notified the alliance of its official name change to "Türkiye."

Turkey's Permanent Mission to NATO last week sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to use the name Türkiye in place of foreign versions of the name.

Last week, in a letter to the U.N. secretary-general, Turkey had requested the use of "Türkiye," and the change was recognized.

European Union institutions were also informed about the country's new standard name.

Turkey is a longstanding member of NATO, having joined in 1952. This February, Turkey marked its 70th anniversary of NATO membership.

The move is meant to cement Turkey's brand name on the international stage and also more accurately reflect its heritage, according to officials.

At the U.N., the country's internationally recognized name has been changed from Turkey to Türkiye, said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday.

After chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said that under the official change, from now on all Turkish state institutions are using the name Türkiye in their correspondence.

He underlined that Turkey is an independent country that can determine and implement its own political and security priorities.

"Turkey is a country that is able to develop its own social policies and practice them as a strong country," said Erdoğan.

The shift to "Türkiye" at the U.N. comes in line with a request by Ankara, which the U.N. announced on June 1.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres got a letter from Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu requesting the use of "Türkiye" instead of "Turkey."