ISTANBUL: Turkiye, with NATO\u2019s second-largest army and a Black Sea coastline, is looking to play a key role in Europe\u2019s security after Washington\u2019s pivot away from the region.
\nAfter two rounds of crisis talks on Ukraine and security following Washington\u2019s change of policy, Ankara has been quick to warn that European defenses cannot be ensured without its involvement.
\n\u201cIt is inconceivable to establish European security without Turkiye,\u201d President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after Sunday\u2019s London summit.
\nWithout Turkiye, \u201cit is becoming increasingly impossible for Europe to continue its role as a global actor,\u201d he added.
\nA senior Turkish defense ministry returned to the issue on Thursday.
\n\u201cWith the security parameters being reshaped due to recent developments, it is impossible to ensure European security without Turkiye,\u201d he said.
\nEven so, he said Turkiye would be ready to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission \u201cif deemed necessary.\u201d
\nAnkara has consistently defended Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity since Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion and supplied it with combat drones and naval vessels.
\nBut it has also maintained good ties with Russia and remains the only NATO member not to have joined the sanctions against Moscow.<\/p>\n
With its unique position between the two warring parties, Turkiye has repeatedly offered to host peace talks.
\nErdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have often received visitors such as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
\nIn recent years, Turkiye has considerably developed its defense industries, with exports growing by 29 percent to reach $7.1 billion in 2024, placing it 11th in global defense exports, Erdogan said in January.
\nDriving its success are the Bayraktar TB2 drones which have been sold to more than 25 nations, among them Poland and Romania, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies\u2019 Military Balance survey.
\n\u201cSales to European countries, particularly EU members, add credibility to Turkiye\u2019s argument it is an important player in European security,\u201d said IISS expert Tom Waldyn.
\nIts military, strategically located on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance and south of the Black Sea \u2014 to which it controls access via the Bosphorus \u2014 counts 373,200 active troops and another 378,700 reservists, IISS figures show.
\nAnd these troops have been engaged in regular combat in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq fighting Kurdish insurgents, according to a Western diplomat.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurkiye has maintained a consistent attitude in line with the UN Charter on the sovereignty and territorial integrity\u201d of Ukraine, he told AFP.
\n\u201cIt has the second largest military in NATO but also the most effective as it\u2019s been in combat for decades,\u201d he explained.
\nBut EU cooperation with Ankara has been hampered by the Cyprus dispute, he said with a trace of exasperation.
\n\u201cHow long can we afford to continue this stance?\u201c
\nFor Nebahat Tanriverdi Yasar, an independent researcher and policy analyst who works in Ankara and Berlin, Turkiye\u2019s careful management of its ties with both Kyiv and Moscow has left it in a unique position.
\n\u201cTurkiye aims to carefully navigate its relations with Russia and its strategic defense support to Ukraine \u2014 potentially with EU backing \u2014 to reshape the balance of power in the region amid the emergence of a \u2018new order\u2019 where the EU seeks to assume greater responsibility for its security amid shifting US policies,\u201d she told AFP.
\nGiven the challenges that entailed, Ankara was \u201clikely to pursue a pragmatic approach in the short term, focusing on expanding its mediation efforts, deepening defense cooperation with select European states, and leveraging its defense industry to address emerging gaps in military support,\u201d she added.
\nBut Sumbul Kaya, a political scientist in France argued that Turkiye was \u201cabove all, driven by a desire to defend its own interests.
\n\u201cIt only intervenes in neighboring countries for internal security reasons, such as in Syria and Iraq,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cBut there\u2019s no question of sending troops to fight wars everywhere \u2014 that would not go down well with the population.
\n\u201cThis crisis is an opportunity to stress that Turkiye is both a NATO member and a candidate for membership in the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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