Turkey must be ‘included’ in Europe’s security structures, says Erdogan

ISTANBUL: Turkey must be included in all of Europe’s defence and security structures, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, a week ahead of a key Nato summit in Ankara.

His remarks come as Europe seeks to revamp its defences in light of the threat from Russia and the risk of a US pullback from Nato, as the military alliance gears up for a key summit in the Turkish capital on July 7-8.

At issue is Turkey’s access to the EU’s €150 billion (US$176-billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, a scheme key to strengthening European defence capabilities.

“Turkey’s indispensable contributions to European security are sometimes overlooked,” Erdogan told parliamentary delegates from all 32 Nato member states in Istanbul, saying Turkey wanted “to participate in all defence and security initiatives” on the continent.

“We expect your support, lawmakers, for Turkey’s inclusion in the defence and security initiatives announced by the EU.”

Although Turkey is technically eligible to access the SAFE initiative, it requires approval from all 27 EU members – something Greece has threatened to block.

The Turkish leader also urged Nato to remove all barriers blocking defence industry trade between members of the alliance.

“If we want to overcome the challenges we face, we need to remove obstacles to defence industry trade while ensuring a balanced and fair burden-sharing among allies,” he said.