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Türkiye highlighted its ongoing humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza and expressed readiness to contribute troops to a multinational task force to be established in the Palestinian enclave, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler said Wednesday following a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.
In a statement released Thursday, the Defense Ministry said Guler took part in key sessions addressing the alliance’s deterrence and defense posture, potential support to Ukraine, and other security matters.
Recalling that Türkiye is among the top five contributors of forces to NATO, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said Türkiye underscored its contributions to the alliance’s defense and deterrence, its modernization efforts, and determination to meet the 5% defense spending target.
He said Türkiye expressed “satisfaction with the cease-fire in Gaza and hope that it will mark the start of a fair two-state solution,” stressing the need for “full implementation of the cease-fire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid.”
Guler added that Türkiye remains committed to its humanitarian support, is ready to join a multinational task force in Gaza, continues contributing to Ukraine at both bilateral and NATO levels, supports diplomatic peace efforts, and values participation in EU-led defense initiatives such as the European Security Action Program (SAFE).
“As a NATO Ally for more than 70 years, we conveyed our national stance and assessments to our counterparts on a wide range of topics, from the Alliance agenda and regional issues to European security,” he added.
Guler said he also held bilateral meetings with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey, along with trilateral talks with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts to explore opportunities for enhanced cooperation.
Türkiye also signed a letter of intent on the Fires Center of Excellence and a memorandum on the Distributed Synthetic Training High Visibility Project with allied defense ministers.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza calls for the deployment of a temporary stabilization force to train and support Palestinian police forces. A ceasefire has been in effect following two years of conflict that killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians and devastated the territory.
NATO Secretary-General Rutte on Monday thanked Türkiye, the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar for their roles in brokering the ceasefire, describing it as “an enormous step.”
Responding to a question from Mevlut Cavusoglu, head of the Turkish delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Slovenia, Rutte praised Türkiye’s contribution to mediation efforts.
“I want to thank you—and through you, Türkiye, but also of course the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar—for the fact that the ceasefire is now taking place,” he said. “I know that President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan and his team have been working very hard on this together with the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar. The fact that this is now happening is an enormous step—one that hopefully inspires us in Europe and with the U.S. to do everything to also end the war in Ukraine.”
Rutte added that NATO must act carefully regarding Gaza due to differing views among member states.
“In NATO, there are various perspectives when it comes to the situation in the Middle East, particularly regarding Israel and Gaza,” he said. “NATO’s focus is on the Euro-Atlantic area, so it’s a bit outside our territory. But of course, we are closely following developments, especially because of their impact on our mission in Iraq—where Türkiye plays a big role—helping Iraqis build their own security and defense forces.”
Trump announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his plan, which includes a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The second phase of the plan envisions establishing a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas, forming a multinational stabilization force, and disarming the group.
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