02.07.2026 16:50
CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu made a statement regarding the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8. Kılıçdaroğlu said, "Turkey sits at this table not to seek approval from anyone, but with the strength derived from its own history, geography, state wisdom, national will, and the Republic's understanding of independence. Our view as the CHP is clear: Turkey is a NATO member, but it is not NATO's forward outpost."
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu emphasized that Turkey should be an independent and strategic central country within the alliance in his statement before the NATO Summit in Ankara. He stated that Turkey is a NATO member but will not be an outpost or a subcontractor.
KILIÇDAROĞLU'S STATEMENT ON THE NATO SUMMIT
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), made statements regarding the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8 during a press conference organized at his party's headquarters.
Beginning his speech by commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the Madımak Massacre, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "We are on July 2nd. We are on a day that burns our hearts. We are on a day when intellectuals and artists were killed, massacred. A friend sent me this note. I want to read it verbatim. Does a human burn another human? Does a human watch while a human burns? Does a human applaud while a human burns? Does a human acquit the one who burns another human? Is there a human who does not burn while a human is burning? If there is a human who does not burn, is that human human? On July 2nd, we must not forget this truth. The Başbağlar massacre. 33 of our citizens were killed by a terrorist organization. We must never forget these two pains. These two pains are among Turkey's deep sorrows."
Regarding the NATO Summit, Kılıçdaroğlu said the following:
"The world is changing. Power centers are changing. International balances are changing. The understanding of technology, energy, trade, and security is being reshaped. While such a historic transformation is taking place, we must ask ourselves this question… Where will Turkey be in this new world order? The answer of the Republican People's Party is clear: Turkey will not be a passive element of any global competition. It will not be an outpost of any power. It will not be a strategic subcontractor of any country. Turkey will chart its own path with the strength it draws from its history, state tradition, and national will. Because at the center of our foreign policy understanding are not ideologies, but national interests. Not rhetorical slogans, but state wisdom. Not day-to-day calculations, but a long-term strategic vision to build the second century of our Republic."
"TURKEY CANNOT WATCH THIS GREAT TRANSFORMATION FROM THE SIDELINES"
Emphasizing that the world is not unipolar, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "While the Atlantic world is restructuring, Asia is becoming the center of gravity of the global economy. Energy corridors, artificial intelligence, critical technologies, cyber security, and trade routes constitute new areas of international competition. Turkey cannot watch this great transformation from the sidelines. Because Turkey is not in an ordinary geography. It is at the intersection of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. That is why we see Turkey not just as a regional power, but as a 'Strategic central country'."
"TURKEY IS A STRONG ALLY OF NATO"
Kılıçdaroğlu stated that Turkey's duty is to establish balance, generate trust, and be a carrier of stability in its geography, and continued his speech as follows:
"The issue is not merely a summit issue. The issue is what vision Turkey will put forward in the new world order. Now, let's come to the NATO Summit… Turkey is a strong and reliable ally of NATO. We have no problem with that. First of all, as a NATO member, we need to state Turkey's position… Turkey sits at this table not to get approval from anyone, but with the strength it draws from its own history, geography, state wisdom, national will, and the Republic's understanding of independence. As the CHP, our perspective is clear: Turkey is a NATO member; but it is not NATO's outpost."
"TURKEY IS INDEPENDENT; BECAUSE IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY ALIGN"
Turkey is a part of European security; but it is not a country to be kept on the periphery of Europe. Turkey maintains an institutional alliance relationship with the USA; but it never becomes the strategic subcontractor of any great power. Turkey talks with Russia and China as well; but it does not enter the orbit of any power. According to us, the name of this vision is clear: an independent, institutional, and productive regional power, Turkey. Turkey is independent; because it does not automatically align.
Turkey is institutional; because it does not surrender foreign policy to personal leadership relationships, day-to-day bargaining, and domestic political calculations. Turkey is productive; because it cannot derive power only from its own geography… It produces technology, defense, diplomacy, energy, logistics, water security, artificial intelligence, cyber security, and social resilience capacity. In this context, Turkey's geopolitical value is great. However, a country's geopolitical value does not grow by constantly being reminded to others. Turkey grows and gains prestige with its institutions, economy, law, production, diplomacy, and social integrity…
"THE ISSUE IS TURKEY'S FUTURE STRATEGIC POSITION"
Let no one forget, the Republican People's Party is the founding carrier of this state wisdom. In this context, our view of the Ankara Summit cannot be limited to the government's narrow propaganda language. The issue is not a government success or a leader's photo opportunity. The issue is Turkey's future strategic position. The issue is whether Turkey will accept the role assigned to it in the great power competition, or whether it will strengthen its own independent decision-making space. Turkey's duty is to prevent the growth of wars in its vicinity, secure energy and supply lines, and generate stability from the Black Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, from the Caucasus to the Middle East. This is not neutrality. This is republican strategic autonomy."
"SECURITY IS INDIVISIBLE"
Stating that security is indivisible, Kılıçdaroğlu spoke as follows:
"NATO security is not limited to the Baltics and Eastern Europe. For Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, terrorist organizations, migration, energy lines, food security, water security, and non-state armed actors are also parts of this security architecture. However, at this meeting, Turkey must absolutely and under no circumstances explain these topics with a narrow language of complaint. Instead of a passive tone saying 'Support us,' it must use a constructive language that reminds NATO of its strategic integrity."
Here, the concept of alliance must be defined correctly. Turkey has an alliance relationship with the USA and NATO. However, this alliance is not unconditional integration into all strategic designs of a country. An alliance operates on the basis of common reason, common security, mutual respect, and equal sovereignty. Because we know very well… Supporting an ally's misguided regional policies, regime engineering, or projects that will dismantle the internal structures of other countries is not an alliance, but strategic dependency."
Kılıçdaroğlu stated that foreign policy is not established only beyond borders, saying, "Foreign policy is established with the state capacity at home. However; if the rule of law is weak, institutions are eroded, the economy is unpredictable, parliament is rendered ineffective, judicial independence is disputed, and there is no guarantee of press freedom, Turkey's voice abroad also weakens."
"Reminding these facts is not only the duty of the CHP but of every patriot," he said.
"WE ARE ALLIES WITH THE USA, BUT WE ARE NOT A SUBCONTRACTOR OF THE USA'S CHINA STRATEGY"
Kılıçdaroğlu stated that the message Turkey needs to convey to the world should be as follows:
"We are members of the NATO alliance, but we are not anyone's forward outpost or subcontractor. We are part of European security, but we are not Europe's peripheral country—we are Europe itself. We are allies with the USA, but we are not a subcontractor of the USA's China strategy. We talk to Russia and China, but we do not enter their orbit. Our duty is not to seek roles in the projects of great powers; it is to produce peace, balance, resilience, and order in our own region. Because Turkey forms alliances but does not become dependent. Turkey balances but does not become passive. Turkey becomes strong but does not reduce its strength to propaganda."
What Turkey needs today is not personal leader diplomacy, but a republican state wisdom. What Turkey needs is not day-to-day bargaining, but a long-term strategic vision. What Turkey needs is not domestic political spectacle, but institutional continuity in foreign policy. Our responsibility as the Republican People's Party lies here.
We will address and sustain Turkey's place in NATO, its relations with Europe, its alliance law with the USA, and balanced relations with Russia and China within the independence line of the Republic. We will neither isolate Turkey nor cast a shadow over the republican concept of strategic autonomy. We will neither drag Turkey into adventure nor turn it into a passive element in others' plans. We will make Turkey a respected regional power based on its own history, its own institutions, its own national will, and its own production capacity."
Regarding the final message to be delivered at the Ankara Summit, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "Turkey is at the table. But Turkey is at this table not because a seat was made for it, but because of its historical right, its strategic weight, and the independence will of the Republic."
Kılıçdaroğlu did not take questions after his statement.