The NATO summit will take place in Ankara on 7–8 July 2026. This will mark the second time Turkey has hosted a NATO summit. The first took place in Istanbul in 2004. Significant decisions were also taken at that summit. As part of NATO’s enlargement, seven former Warsaw Pact member states were admitted to NATO. The summit to be held in Ankara in 2026 is also significant for resolving the growing tensions between the US and NATO’s European members. The 2004 Istanbul Summit was not only significant in terms of approving the NATO membership of seven former Eastern Bloc countries.
At the same time, the NATO Summit held on 26–28 June 2004 led to another highly significant event taking on a different dimension. The tensions caused by the US invasion of Iraq, led by President George Bush, which had provoked widespread global outrage, were eased shortly before the summit began by the US announcement that sovereignty over Iraq would be transferred to the Iraqi people. Now, 22 years later, ahead of the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara, the emergence of a peace agreement aimed at averting war between the US and Iran – which had previously been a source of global tension – has also helped to ease the economic, political and military tensions developing worldwide. The only remaining thorn in the side is Israel. In this regard, just as the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq was on the agenda ahead of the summit in Istanbul 22 years ago, it is a significant expectation that the summit to be held in Ankara 22 years later will contribute to make sure the US–Iran agreement becomes lasting and to further develop a peaceful environment in Lebanon and Gaza.
Interestingly, ahead of the summit in question, both Turkey’s Defence Minister, Mr Yaşar Güler, and the Defence Minister of the ‘Republic of Cyprus’, Mr Vasilis Palmas, delivered very significant messages. Mister Palmas declared that both the deployment of Greek F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) concluded with France—which had been the subject of grand, rhetorical speeches aimed at domestic politics—were temporary measures. In other words, he announced the opposite of the rhetoric used for domestic political purposes just before the NATO Summit. Turkey’s Defence Minister, Mister Yaşar Güler, subsequently stated that the SOFA Agreement concluded with France was not in accordance with international law or the Treaty of Guarantee. However, the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Alliance impose not only rights but also responsibilities on Turkey, Greece, the United Kingdom and the two communities of Cyprus.
Foremost among these are two fundamental issues.
