Head of Communications Duran stated: “The Summit marked a strategic watershed that redefined Türkiye’s position within NATO and made the country’s role in shaping the Alliance’s future more visible.”
The Presidency’s Head of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, has authored an article titled “The 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ankara and Türkiye’s Strategic Communications” for the August issue of AA Briefing magazine.
The international system has entered a period marked by the simultaneous intensification of multiple security threats. The ongoing war in Europe, deepening instability in the Middle East, disruptions to energy supplies and global supply chains, cyberattacks, AI-enabled disinformation, and hybrid threats targeting societal resilience have converged within the same security equation. In such an environment, the institutional legacy inherited from the past is no longer sufficient to sustain alliances on its own. Rather, it has become imperative for alliances to recognise emerging risks and threats and to develop common policies and capabilities that are responsive to evolving strategic conditions.
It is precisely for this reason that the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Ankara, was far more than a host nation's organisational achievement. The Ankara Summit represented a milestone not only for the global security architecture but also for Türkiye’s place within that architecture. It marked a strategic watershed, redefining Türkiye’s position within NATO and making the country’s role in shaping the Alliance’s future more visible.
NATO’s enduring strength has always rested on its ability to adapt to the evolving threats it has faced throughout its history. Today, the Alliance has entered yet another phase of adaptation and transformation. The re-emergence of conventional threats along NATO’s eastern borders, coupled with intensifying great-power competition originating from distant regions, and the evolution of burden-sharing debates from equitable burden-sharing to the shifting of responsibilities, has given rise to a new approach commonly referred to as “NATO 3.0.” This approach seeks to build an Alliance that is more capable, better able to translate defence spending into tangible military capabilities, and more balanced in the distribution of responsibilities among Allies. The Summit held in Ankara on 7–8 July 2026 marked the critical juncture at which this third phase began to take shape, laying the foundations for NATO 3.0. This development underscores the fact that NATO remains an Alliance that continually redefines itself in response to geopolitical change, while also highlighting Türkiye’s growing role and influence in shaping these transformations.
Messages of the Ankara Summit
It should not be forgotten that the way a state positions itself within the international system is not determined solely by its material capabilities, but by the strength of the narrative it constructs around those capabilities. Only when such capabilities are communicated effectively can they be transformed into meaningful representation. States shape their identities, their understanding of how the international system functions, and their vision for the future through interconnected narratives, while striving to convey these narratives to different audiences through different channels. The messages Türkiye conveyed to the world during the Ankara Summit formed an integral part of this broader strategic narrative.
Türkiye’s first and foremost message was that it is an Ally that is a net provider of security. Possessing NATO’s second-largest military, Türkiye has strengthened its military capabilities not merely in terms of numerical strength, but through operational experience, geographical reach, a robust defence industrial base, and the ability to respond rapidly to crises. The presence of NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) in İzmir and the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps–Türkiye (NRDC-TÜR) Headquarters in Istanbul clearly demonstrates Türkiye’s central place within the Alliance’s command structure. Türkiye also contributes to the Alliance’s early warning capability through its radar systems and operational infrastructure.
Its commitments to NATO Air Policing missions in Estonia, Romania and Lithuania, together with its contribution to the Steadfast Dart 26 exercise led by TCG Anadolu, reaffirm the continuity of this role. At a time when security extends far beyond the defence of national borders, Türkiye contributes to the Alliance’s capabilities across multiple domains, including cyberspace, critical infrastructure, logistics networks, unmanned systems, and strategic communications. The message of the Ankara Summit was unequivocal: Türkiye is not merely a frontline state on NATO’s southern flank, but a central security provider playing an active role across multiple threat environments. In doing so, Türkiye has further consolidated its position as an Ally that has moved from the periphery to the centre of the Alliance. Beyond safeguarding NATO’s borders, Türkiye plays a pivotal role across virtually every issue of strategic importance to the Alliance—from Ukraine to the Caucasus, from Syria to the Gulf, and from the Mediterranean to critical energy and transport corridors.
The second message was a vision of mediation that does not regard deterrence and diplomacy as mutually exclusive. For Türkiye, preventing the escalation of crises, keeping channels of communication open, and creating space for diplomacy are integral to its understanding of security. Türkiye's sustained engagement with the parties throughout the war in Ukraine, the negotiation channel established in İstanbul, and the diplomatic efforts that made the Black Sea Grain Initiative possible are tangible examples of this approach.
Similarly, in response to tensions involving Gaza, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Iran, Türkiye has consistently sought to contain the regional spillover of conflicts while preserving the prospects for political solutions. This approach reflects the recognition that NATO's military deterrence alone is insufficient and that the diplomatic engagement required to manage crises is an equally indispensable component of the Alliance. Türkiye's ability to engage with a diverse range of actors provides a unique channel of diplomatic access, facilitating contacts that the Alliance itself is not always able to establish directly.
The source of this reach lies in Türkiye's diplomatic position, which is not confined to a single geopolitical axis. While remaining a committed NATO Ally, Türkiye has maintained open channels of dialogue with Russia while simultaneously pursuing active diplomacy through the Organisation of Turkic States and across the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus. This enables Türkiye to engage simultaneously with a wide range of actors, rather than remaining confined to geopolitical echo chambers. This diplomatic reach constitutes an important diplomatic asset not only for Türkiye but also for the Alliance, enabling it to engage with actors beyond its direct reach.
This mediating role has extended not only beyond the Alliance but also within it. At a time when NATO's future and cohesion have periodically been called into question, the Ankara Summit concluded with a strong message of Allied unity. Türkiye was among the Allies that helped preserve dialogue among members with differing perspectives while strengthening the basis for consensus. This process further established Türkiye as an actor capable of contributing not only to the management of external crises but also to preserving the Alliance's internal cohesion and institutional resilience.
The third message highlighted Türkiye's capacity for regional leadership through its ability to take an integrated view of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Contemporary security challenges no longer emanate from a single geographical direction. While conventional security concerns remain entirely legitimate, multidimensional risks—including terrorism, irregular migration, state fragility, energy security, maritime lines of communication, and regional conflicts—are equally strategic. Türkiye's 360-degree security approach is founded on the recognition that these diverse security challenges cannot be addressed in isolation.
The engagement with the countries of the İstanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) during the Ankara Summit brought the link between Gulf security and Euro-Atlantic security into sharper focus. Türkiye's commitment to the Initiative, which was established in 2004, reflects a perspective that broadens NATO's regional partnerships while linking the Alliance more closely with security dynamics beyond its geographical boundaries. Türkiye's regional leadership, therefore, is not simply a matter of influence within its immediate neighbourhood; rather, it lies in its ability to forge political, military, and diplomatic linkages across multiple regional security theatres.
The fourth message was that of a strategic Ally that fulfils its obligations while calling for a more balanced distribution of responsibilities in shaping the Alliance’s future. Increasing defence expenditure is important; however, the real benchmark is whether financial commitments are translated into deployable, interoperable, and sustainable military capabilities. Türkiye does not view burden-sharing solely through the lens of defence spending. Instead, it assesses the issue in terms of operational contributions on the ground, the risks undertaken by Allies, defence industrial production capacity, the provision of bases and headquarters, and the diplomatic responsibilities.
Nor does Allied cohesion imply uniformity. Within an Alliance composed of thirty-two members, each shaped by distinct historical experiences and strategic cultures, differences of opinion are both natural and inevitable. The challenge lies in managing those differences without weakening the collective commitment to defence, while ensuring that no Ally's threat perceptions are treated as secondary. The growing prominence of the risks that Türkiye has long highlighted on NATO's agenda has contributed to a more balanced and realistic understanding of collective defence.
The Transformation of the Defence Industry at the Ankara Summit
The Ankara Summit also brought the central role of the defence industry within Alliance policy into sharper focus. The convening of the NATO Defence Industry Forum for the first time as part of the Summit clearly demonstrated that the defence industry has moved from the periphery to the centre of the Alliance's agenda.
In recent years, Türkiye has significantly expanded its production, export, and technological capabilities across a broad spectrum of defence sectors, ranging from unmanned aerial systems and naval platforms to armoured vehicles, electronic warfare technologies, and air defence systems. In 2025, the sector’s exports increased by 48 per cent compared with the previous year, reaching US$10.054 billion. Underpinning this achievement is a domestic production rate exceeding 80 per cent across the sector. As emphasised during the Forum, Türkiye’s rapidly advancing defence industry, robust manufacturing capacity, and technological infrastructure have attracted considerable attention among Allies regarding joint production and supply chains.
This progress strengthens not only Türkiye’s national security but also NATO’s collective deterrence. Given Europe’s need for greater production capacity, technological flexibility, and supply chain resilience, Türkiye’s emergence as an indispensable component of the European defence industrial architecture is essential to shared security. Reducing restrictions among Allies, developing joint projects, and ensuring the full and equitable integration of the Turkish defence industry into European mechanisms will significantly enhance the Alliance’s overall capabilities. The overall picture that emerged from the Summit demonstrated that the Turkish defence industry is no longer regarded merely as a supplier, but increasingly as a producer, exporter, and strategic partner—one of the leading actors in NATO's defence transformation.
Underlying these developments is a broader vision of strategic autonomy, built upon Türkiye’s sustained investment in an indigenous defence industry, its capacity for independent technological development, and its multidimensional foreign policy. In today’s evolving security environment, this approach is no longer a matter of choice but of necessity. Europe’s efforts to strengthen its own defence capabilities, together with NATO’s objective of enhancing collective resilience, have further underscored the strategic significance of the path Türkiye has pursued.
The Strategic Communications Narrative of the Ankara Summit
One of the most decisive factors in enabling states to consolidate their standing within the international system, shape their geopolitical narratives, and communicate their messages to a global audience is, without doubt, political leadership. The fact that global summits such as NATO are covered by the international media largely through leaders’ bilateral meetings, diplomatic gestures, and family photographs illustrates how leadership amplifies diplomatic influence. In this respect, the Ankara Summit provided a timely and tangible example of the reality that a state's strategic role is not defined solely through institutional policy documents, but also gains international resonance through leaders who embody that role and communicate it directly to their counterparts. The record number of journalists accredited to the Ankara Summit, compared with previous NATO summits, and the extensive global dissemination of its messages were closely linked to this dynamic.
Throughout the Summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consistently positioned Türkiye as a reliable, key, and central Ally. By reinforcing this message through diplomatic engagement and symbolic gestures both during and after the Summit, he generated an impact that extended well beyond formal institutional and bureaucratic statements, delivering a clear and direct message to the international community. This went beyond diplomatic representation, directly conveying to global audiences Türkiye's influence at the negotiating table and its shaping role in decision-making processes.
When coupled with the Presidential Complex, a venue of profound symbolic significance, this leadership evolved into a far more profound strategic narrative. President Erdoğan’s statement, “The heart of global diplomacy beats at our Presidential Complex”, not only reflected the intense diplomatic engagement surrounding the Summit but also demonstrated that the Complex—conceived fundamentally as the “People’s House”—had successfully fulfilled its global mission by welcoming leaders from different nations. This convergence has become a lasting historical symbol of the prestige, credibility, and visionary strength of the Republic of Türkiye.
Türkiye’s hospitality likewise served as a powerful expression of the importance it attaches to the Alliance. The accompanying cultural programme transformed the country’s tradition of hospitality into a lived experience rather than a rhetorical gesture. The incorporation of the richness of Turkish cuisine into the official hospitality programme, the inclusion of traditional handicrafts and musical performances in the daily schedule of Allied delegations, and the opening of the Nation’s Library of the Presidency and its art collections to visiting guests did more than showcase a summit. They also reflected the enduring legacy of Türkiye’s millennia-old state tradition and its deeply rooted culture of hospitality.
Hosting a summit should not be viewed merely as a matter of organisation, logistics, or protocol. By welcoming Allies in a secure, well-organised, comfortable, and world-class environment, Ankara also presented a constructive vision for NATO’s future. As NATO's concept continues to evolve, Türkiye demonstrated once again to all participants that it will remain an indispensable Ally—strengthening NATO’s deterrence, keeping diplomatic channels open, fostering strategic balance, and providing tangible capabilities in support of collective security.
Türkiye’s central position in the fields of security, defence, and mediation further substantiates this reality. Hosting thousands of diplomats, journalists, experts, and official representatives, the Summit showcased a high level of institutional coordination across security, transportation, broadcasting, crisis communications, and public diplomacy.
As the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, we played an active role in the successful delivery of the Summit by mobilising our full institutional capacity in media and broadcasting operations, accreditation procedures, crisis communications, and public diplomacy. The extensive capacity of the media centre, the public diplomacy programmes conducted across various capitals, TRT’s global broadcasts delivered through its extensive network of cameras and live transmission points, and the policy forums accompanying the Summit collectively demonstrated that Türkiye has become a central country shaping the international agenda.
In the emerging security environment, centrality is defined not merely by geography, but by the ability to make decisions, bring diverse actors together, and establish a common strategic language. In this regard, the Ankara Summit powerfully demonstrated Türkiye’s growing significance within NATO as a central security provider, mediator, regional leader, and strategic Ally. Each of these roles is underpinned by Türkiye’s military capabilities, diplomatic reach, defence industry, regional experience, and institutional coordination.
Burhanettin Duran, Presidency’s Head of Communications
The full article by Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran, prepared for the August issue of AA Briefing, is available on the AAkitap platform.