Türkiye Seeks to Use Erdogan-Trump Ties to Ease NATO Tensions: Turkish FM Fidan

Türkiye intends to use the personal relationship between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump to manage deepening fractures within NATO.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan outlined this strategy ahead of a crucial summit of the 32-member defense alliance convening in Ankara on Tuesday.

Speaking to The New York Times, Fidan emphasized that managing Trump relies entirely on trust and friendship.

Ankara plans to harness this dynamic for the broader benefit of the trans-Atlantic bloc.

Leveraging Personal Diplomacy

Trump has persistently threatened to downgrade U.S. involvement in NATO or abandon the organization entirely.

He recently accused member states of disloyalty after they declined to support the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Despite alienating other NATO leaders, Trump has publicly praised Erdogan. Fidan identified this specific rapport as a diplomatic tool to ease internal friction.

The former intelligence chief took over as Türkiye's top diplomat in 2023.

He remains the sole NATO minister maintaining direct contact with senior figures from the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and the Palestinian group Hamas.

Collective Defense and Spending

The Ankara summit will prominently feature debates on defense budgets. NATO seeks to enforce a target for members to allocate 5 percent of their gross domestic product to military expenditures.

Fidan predicted these technical negotiations would proceed without issue, despite aggressive rhetoric from Washington.

He maintained that core troop deployments remain unchanged and that no member questions NATO's fundamental necessity.

Trump's threats to pull U.S. forces from Germany have prompted European states to consider independent collective defense mechanisms outside the alliance. Fidan dismissed these proposals.

He categorized separate European defense frameworks as a structural problem for NATO.

Security across the region requires integrating Türkiye into any broader European platform, he argued.

Regional Security and Mediation

Following its opposition to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, Türkiye is working to facilitate an end to the hostilities.

Fidan expressed guarded optimism regarding a 60-day memorandum of understanding signed last month between Washington and Tehran.

Both factions show a serious commitment to ultimate political objectives, according to Fidan.

However, contentious issues, including sanctions, Iran's nuclear program, and maritime rules for the Strait of Hormuz, remain unresolved.

On a separate front, Fidan recently held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Russia. Türkiye remains prepared to mediate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Fidan concluded that Moscow is open to negotiations but stressed the process requires significant U.S. leverage.

Immediate peace talks are not expected.