Merve Berker and Esra Tekin
25 June 2025•Update: 25 June 2025
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday welcomed recent progress on a key issue with the US, the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye.
“We discussed the F-35 (fighter jet) issue. We made payments of $1.3 to 1.4 billion for F-35s, and we saw that Mr. Trump was well-intentioned about delivering them,” Erdogan told a news conference in The Hague after a NATO summit, referring to his meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump late Tuesday.
Our teams are continuing work on the maintenance and modernization of our F-16s as well as on procurement related to the F-35s,” he added.
Erdogan said the outcome of the summit was increasing the spending in defense for the allied countries.
Noting that Türkiye is the most affected allied country by both terrorism and regional crises, Erdogan said authorities have been making efforts to keep the country away from conflicts and tensions.
Stressing Türkiye's attempts on increasing its deterrence and strengthening defense capabilities, Erdogan said the country has made a “great breakthrough" in its defense industry in recent years.
Erdogan said Ankara will gradually increase its defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP over the next 10 years using the national budget.
"I think it is right that many allies are aligning themselves with us in taking on more responsibility in the face of threats and challenges.
“Of course, it is not possible to improve the effectiveness of the alliance by simply increasing defense spending. Mutual understanding and cooperation among allies must also be sincerely established,” he said.
On NATO’s collective posture, Erdogan said Türkiye led efforts to ensure that “NATO documents call for lifting all barriers to defense trade among allies, without exception.”
On European defense industry integration, the Turkish president said he stressed that the participation of non-EU NATO partners would “serve the interests of all Europe.”
Ankara is also holding talks with London and Berlin on the Eurofighter jet program, he said, noting “positive developments.”
“We also made sure the declaration reflected our view that counterterrorism can only succeed through genuine solidarity among allies,” he said.
The president also reaffirmed Türkiye’s continued diplomatic push for a just and sustainable peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, saying: “I believe a window of opportunity has opened for a ceasefire and lasting peace.”
“This should not be wasted. Our goal is to pave the way for a process leading to lasting peace by supporting additional concrete steps between the parties.
“I maintain my hope that the war will be concluded as soon as possible with the support of our allies. As I have always said, a just peace has no losers,” he added.
On whether Trump brought up the idea of building casinos and resorts in Gaza during their meeting, Erdogan said: “We had a meeting with Mr. Trump in the evening, which lasted about 1 to 1.5 hours. But in our discussion, the issue you mentioned—casinos along the coast of Gaza—did not come up. And if it had, I think my response would have been obvious. My stance on this is clear. Given that, Mr. Trump is a smart man who knows well what questions to ask and to whom. This topic never came up between us.”
On Türkiye’s role in NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo and the expectation that command will return to Türkiye, Erdogan said the country is currently part of KFOR in the region—for peace and stability.
“As long as our forces are there, we hope no problems will arise,” he added.
Asked about Russia’s delegation in the recent Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, Erdogan said “successful talks were held between Russia and Ukraine.”
“Our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan led and managed the process, and the outcome was very positive,” he added.
On Spain’s commitment to contribute 2% instead of 5% to defense spending and the stance of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Erdogan said: “Given the 10-year timeline, I see no issue. NATO needs this strength, and EU member states within NATO have the means to meet it. As Türkiye, we have also expressed support and said it's beneficial to meet this target within 10 years.”
