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Türkiye has disclosed that a NATO Maritime Component Command is planned to be established at Anadolukavagi in Istanbul's Beykoz district on the Bosphorus, in a statement on the social media platform X on Saturday.
The Ministry of National Defense (MoND) separately confirmed on March 26 that a Multinational Corps Headquarters is being developed under NATO's Southeast Regional Plan, emphasizing that the latter has no connection to recent regional developments.
The Maritime Component Command disclosure came in a March 24 Turkish Navy report about a visit to the facility by Major General Jean-Pierre Fague of France, Commander of the Multinational Force Ukraine Operational Headquarters, and his deputy, Major General Richard Stewart Charles Bell of the United Kingdom, accompanied by their delegation.
They were received at Anadolukavagi by Rear Admiral Ozgur Erken, Commander of the Istanbul Strait Command, and Rear Admiral Birol Orak, Commander of the Mine Fleet Command, along with personnel from the Maritime Component Command.
At the Ministry of National Defense's weekly press briefing on March 26, the ministry addressed questions about the planned NATO headquarters in Türkiye.
"Our ministry was ordered in 2023 to begin work toward establishing a Corps Headquarters within the scope of the NATO Southeast Regional Plan, and this intention was declared to NATO in 2024.
Within this scope, the 6th Corps Command has been assigned to meet the requirements of the planned headquarters to be established under the command of a Turkish general, and necessary appointments have been made to the national core staff," the ministry said.
The ministry said work on converting the headquarters into a multinational structure is continuing in coordination with NATO authorities and that the approval process is ongoing, as NATO procedures have not yet been completed.
It added that the headquarters does not yet have an approved logo.
"The mission of the said Corps Headquarters is, within the scope of regional plans, to support deterrence and defense activities in its area of responsibility by ensuring the integration of forces to be assigned to it," the statement said.
The ministry was explicit that the development predates and is unrelated to the current conflict.
"Since the NATO Southeast Regional Plan prepared within the scope of the threat assessment has been previously approved by Allies, the planned Multinational Corps Headquarters has no connection to recent developments in our region," it said.
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