Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan struck an optimistic tone regarding the trajectory of defense cooperation with the United States, making particular reference to his bilateral meeting with American President Donald Trump during his post-summit remarks following the NATO Summit in Ankara. Erdoğan expressed his conviction that positive developments will follow regarding the KAAN and F-35 programs. In a post shared on social media, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the 36th NATO Summit held in Ankara a success, arguing that it underscored Turkey’s central role within the Alliance. The Turkish president went on to express his belief that the talks held with the American president would yield results that meet Ankara’s expectations in the field of defense industry cooperation.
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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s post following the NATO Summit
“This Summit, held at a time when the global security architecture is being reshaped by great power competition, hybrid threats, regional crises, and emerging technologies, once again highlighted our country’s central role in the international security architecture, its diplomatic capacity, and its responsibilities as an ally. The ‘NATO 3.0’ vision aims to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities and better adapt the Alliance to the new era. Turkey, with its military capabilities, strategic location, diplomatic experience, and defense industry potential, stands at the heart of this transformation as one of NATO’s most powerful actors. On the sidelines of the Summit, the Security and Defence Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom was also signed, while negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Canada were launched. I particularly believe that the constructive and productive talks we held with my valued friend, US President Mr. Trump, who paid an official visit to our country on the occasion of the Summit, will lead to concrete results that meet our country’s expectations in the field of defense industry — most notably regarding our national combat aircraft KAAN and the F-35 program.”
Zirve’de aldığımız kararlarla NATO’nun caydırıcılık ve savunma kapasitesini güçlendirme, transatlantik bağı tahkim etme ve İttifakın geleceğini daha güçlü bir Avrupa, daha güçlü bir NATO anlayışı temelinde inşa etme irademizi bir kez daha ortaya koyduk.
Ankara Zirvesi Sonuç…
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) July 9, 2026
