WASHINGTON

A survey released ahead of a NATO summit in Washington has found a largely favorable view of the military alliance among member states.

Sixty-three percent of adults in the survey on Tuesday held a positive opinion of NATO, while 33% expressed a negative opinion.

The survey by the Pew Research Center for the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding revealed a significant increase in favorable views of NATO in Türkiye during a span of five years, with those holding a favorable opinion of the alliance doubling from 21% in 2019 to 42% in 2024.

In 2011, the survey recorded only 18% of Turks had a favorable view of NATO, indicating a significant shift in public opinion toward the alliance.

The lowest support for NATO among member states was in Greece, with 37% of adults viewing NATO favorably, compared to 59% holding an unfavorable view.

Among NATO countries, Poland stands out with the highest public support with 91%. The Netherlands closely follows with 75% while Sweden, the latest addition to the 32-member alliance, recorded 72%.

The survey found 66% of those in Britain held a favorable view of NATO, 63% in Canada, 64% in Germany, 63% in Hungary, 60% in Italy, 54% in France and 45% in Spain.

The survey also revealed that 40% of adults in those countries expressed confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's ability to make the right decisions about world affairs, while 46% do not share the sentiment.

The survey reported a largely unfavorable view of Russia and President Vladimir Putin, with 65% of respondents having an unfavorable view of the country and 73% lacking confidence in the its leader to do the right thing with world affairs.

In Türkiye, more than 60% expressed an unfavorable view of Russia or had no confidence in Putin. Turks also had no confidence in Zelenskyy, with just 31% showing confidence for the Ukrainian president, while 60% had no confidence.

Türkiye joined the military alliance with 29 North American and European countries in 1952, three years after its founding, and Ankara boasts of having the second-largest army among member states after the US.

It attaches utmost importance to NATO’s role in maintaining security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, especially at a time of growing conflicts and geopolitical uncertainties.

Türkiye, however, has been facing challenges with its relation with some member states, including the US, concerning support for the YPG -- the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terror group -- in northern Syria.

The US sees the YPG, which was later renamed SDF, as a partner in the fight against the Daesh/ISIS terror group. Türkiye rejects US support for the YPG because of the group’s ties to the PKK, which has been listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and the EU.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend a NATO leaders summit in Washington from July 9 - 11.