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Türkiye plays a vital role in NATO's deterrence posture and efforts to maintain stability across its southern flank, a senior alliance official said, highlighting Ankara's growing strategic importance as the alliance advances its "360-degree" security approach ahead of July's summit in the Turkish capital.
"Türkiye plays an essential role, is an actor that is well known for its ability to secure the shores, for its ability to provide defense industry assets, for its ability with their armed forces, and is indeed one of our more committed allies," Javier Colomina, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, told state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) in an exclusive interview.
"And particularly in the Mediterranean, it plays a huge role in ensuring that the Mediterranean is a secure basin, together with the other Allies," he noted.
Colomina emphasized that the geographical location of July's NATO summit carries both symbolic and strategic importance.
"The fact of having this summit in the Southern Neighborhood, geographically located in the south, as it's Ankara, would mean a lot for our Southern Neighborhood Action Plan, for the approach we have to our partners, and for all the work that we've been doing in the last couple of years," he said.
The summit is expected to focus primarily on implementing decisions taken at last year's gathering in The Hague, including increased defense investment targets and continued support for Ukraine.
While concrete deliverables specific to the southern flank remain under discussion, Colomina indicated the southern dimension will likely feature prominently.
Colomina described Türkiye as a central actor in shaping alliance policy toward the Mediterranean and wider southern neighborhood, citing the country's military capabilities, geographic position, and active contributions to regional security.
"The Southern Neighborhood has been an important topic for the alliance for many years, but it was a year and a half ago that we decided to approve a Southern Neighborhood Action Plan," Colomina said, noting that Türkiye played "a very important role in making that happen."
The action plan is based on pillars including political dialogue, practical cooperation, regional presence and coordination with organizations such as the African Union, United Nations, European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab League.
"In all of those pillars, it's been very clear the support from Türkiye," Colomina said.
Addressing NATO's priorities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Colomina underscored long-standing cooperation frameworks such as the Mediterranean Dialogue, launched more than three decades ago.
"We have partners in the Mediterranean and allies that do play a role in the southern side of the alliance, from Türkiye to Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy," he said, highlighting efforts to safeguard energy corridors and maritime routes.
Colomina said Türkiye is particularly influential in regional security due to its military capabilities and strategic position, contributing significantly to ensuring the Mediterranean remains "a secure basin."
NATO's evolving defense concept focuses on threats across all strategic directions—north, east, west, and south—reflecting an interconnected security environment, Colomina explained.
"The 360-degree approach is at the core of everything that we do," he said, linking the strategy to collective defense planning and deterrence efforts across the Euro-Atlantic area.
He pointed to growing challenges across the southern neighborhood, including terrorism, irregular migration, maritime and energy security concerns, cyber threats and geopolitical competition involving Russia, China and Iran.
NATO's response involves cooperation with a wide network of partners, including 12 southern partners among its 35 global partners, according to Colomina.
"NATO doesn't have to be the first responder for all of them," he said, emphasizing capacity-building initiatives and cooperation with regional partners to promote stability.
The alliance is closely monitoring developments in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the Gulf, and the Red Sea, he said, stressing the need to contribute to stability without necessarily taking a leading operational role.
Responding to debates about burden-sharing and collective defense credibility, Colomina said NATO remains strong and united following decisions taken at the 2024 summit in The Hague.
"I think we had a historical summit in The Hague last summer, where we took historical decisions to increase our investment to 5 percent," he said, calling the move evidence of the alliance's "good health" and continued commitment to Article 5 mutual defense guarantees.
He noted that many allies have significantly increased defense spending and capabilities while emphasizing the continued role of the United States within NATO.
"That doesn't mean that the Americans will no longer be with us. They still have 80,000 soldiers in Europe," Colomina said, adding that greater European and Canadian contributions will ultimately strengthen the alliance.
Congratulating Türkiye on the 74th anniversary of its NATO membership, Colomina described Ankara as a major contributor to alliance security.
"Türkiye contributes greatly to our security and defense efforts, particularly in the southern neighborhood, being one of the countries more exposed to southern neighborhood challenges," he said, praising the country's defense industry and military capabilities across land, sea, and air.
"We're very pleased with the work that we continue to do with our Turkish friends everywhere where we are deployed and in Brussels, where we work on a daily basis," he added.
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