NATO Secretary General Rutte is coming to Turkey.

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Ankara for official talks. It is expected that the discussions will emphasize that the deteriorating peace environment in Europe requires NATO to be much stronger and express concerns about the EU's exclusionary approach towards NATO Allies that are not EU members. Additionally, Turkey's expectations regarding the removal of barriers to defense procurement among Allies and full solidarity in the fight against terrorism will be highlighted at the highest level.

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE IS COMING TO ANKARA

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is coming to Ankara today. Rutte is expected to be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and to meet with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler.

REMOVAL OF EMBARGOS IN THE DEFENSE SECTOR WILL BE REQUESTED

During the talks, it is aimed to emphasize Turkey's expectations regarding the removal of barriers to defense procurement among Allies and full solidarity in the fight against terrorism in line with the decisions taken at the 2023 Vilnius and 2024 Washington Summits, and to highlight the expectation that Rutte will take a leading role in this context.

NATO-EU RELATIONS

In the meeting where the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war will be discussed, it will also be pointed out that the deteriorating peace environment in Europe requires NATO to be much stronger. In the discussions where concerns about the EU's exclusionary approach towards NATO Allies that are not EU members will be expressed, an exchange of views will be held regarding the possible reflections of this situation on NATO-EU relations. Turkey's contributions to NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as the current status of efforts to strengthen deterrence and defense in line with the decisions taken at NATO Summits, are expected to be on the agenda.

HE WILL VISIT TUSAŞ

Rutte is also expected to visit the TUSAŞ facilities in Kahramankazan, where 5 people lost their lives and 22 were injured due to an attack by the terrorist organization PKK, to offer his condolences and to receive information about TUSAŞ's activities.

During the candidacy process, Rutte visited Turkey on April 24, 2024, and was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul. After taking over the Secretary General position from Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte also met with Erdoğan at the European Political Community Summit held in Budapest in October. He was one of the first to call Erdoğan to offer condolences after the terrorist attack on TUSAŞ on October 23.