Turkey Tightens Security Ahead of NATO 07/01 06:05

   Turkey is rolling out sweeping security measures for the upcoming NATO 
summit, deploying tens of thousands of police and placing air defenses on high 
alert, while banning public gatherings and imposing controversial restrictions 
on freedom of expression and assembly.

   ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey is rolling out sweeping security measures for 
the upcoming NATO summit, deploying tens of thousands of police and placing air 
defenses on high alert, while banning public gatherings and imposing 
controversial restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

   That's meant to safeguard the summit, but also to display strength and 
underscore Turkey's commitment to the military alliance, even as it is often 
portrayed as an outlier within it.

   On July 7--8, leaders from all 32 member states are expected convene in the 
Turkish capital, including U.S. President Donald Trump, whose threats to 
withdraw from NATO and reduce U.S. troop levels have cast uncertainty over the 
alliance's future.

   Turkey has also unveiled a new VIP airport, converted from a former military 
airfield, specifically to host NATO leaders.

   Allies will aim for unity

   At the Ankara summit, NATO members are expected to address questions over 
defense spending and the U.S.'s evolving role in the alliance.

   The main agenda will center on unity after Trump has criticized allies for 
failing to support the U.S.-led war on Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of 
Hormuz.

   "The important aspect of the meeting is to what extent the rift between the 
United States and Europe can be healed or narrowed during the summit," said 
Fatih Ceylan, a former Turkish ambassador to NATO and security analyst at the 
Ankara Policy Center. "We should not expect miracles, but nonetheless if there 
is a convergence of ideas emphasizing the importance of NATO, that should be 
seen as a success."

   Turkey's role as host seems to have helped win an appearance by Trump, who 
has a close rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

   "Well, except for the fact that it was being held in Turkey by President 
Erdogan, I don't think I would have gone to it," he told reporters following a 
meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

   Turkey has often acted independently in NATO

   In the run-up to the summit, Erdogan described Turkey as a reliable ally 
that consistently shoulders responsibility on NATO's southeastern flank and 
will continue to play a leading role in the alliance. He said his country was 
working to ensure that the Ankara Summit "will stand as a reference point in 
NATO's history."

   A NATO member since 1952, Turkey has the alliance's second-largest army 
after the United States, a fast-growing defense industry, and a strategic 
location the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, the Black Sea, and the 
Caucasus.

   Yet it has often acted independently, frustrating allies by refusing to 
participate in sanctions on Russia, engaging in disputes with Greece, and 
purchasing Russian missile defense systems -- a move that led to its expulsion 
from the U.S.-led F-35 program in 2019.

   Turkey also delayed Finland and Sweden's NATO membership until it secured 
concessions on counter-terrorism cooperation and the lifting of arms export 
restrictions, and blocked the appointments of NATO chiefs Anders Fogh 
Rassmussen in 2009 and Mark Rutte in 2024 until other demands were met.

   But Turkey's independent streak has also enabled it to play a mediating 
role, from brokering a deal to ship grain across the Black Sea between Ukraine 
and Russia in 2022 to supporting recent initiatives aimed at ending the war in 
Iran.

   Ankara, too, has at times been frustrated with its NATO allies, particularly 
over what it saw as the alliance's lack of solidarity during a failed coup 
attempt in 2016, and the arms sales restrictions imposed on Turkey after its 
intervention in Syria.

   Murat Aslan, an analyst at the Ankara-based SETA think tank, said Turkey 
learned to "play it alone" due to its turbulent relations with the United 
States and Europe, adding that Europe is now also talking about "strategic 
autonomy" from the U.S.

   Turkey can help NATO navigate U.S.--Europe tensions by showing how to 
"balance" independence with alliance commitments, he said.

   Ankara is tilting back toward the West

   More recently, however, Turkey has leaned closer to NATO, whose importance 
was underscored during the Iran war when alliance missile defenses intercepted 
four missiles fired from Iran into Turkish territory. Weeks before the summit, 
Italy and Germany deployed air defense systems to help Turkey respond to 
heightened threats.

   "Turkey wishes to distinguish itself as a foreign policy actor that is 
independent of NATO and the West," wrote Hamish Kinnear, principal Middle East 
and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, in a 
note. "While Turkey is not abandoning its balancing approach, it is tilting 
closer to the West, primarily because of NATO."

   Authorities roll out strict security measures

   In Ankara, strict access restrictions will be imposed on several of the 
city's main arteries, around airports, the presidential complex where the 
summit will be held, and around hotels hosting the delegations, severely 
disrupting life in the city of nearly 6 million.

   As the country prepares for the summit, Erdogan unveiled a new airport which 
was transformed from a former military airfield into a modern facility with 
expanded runways. The new Ankara Airport is expected to remain a VIP airport 
after the summit and is not expected to serve the general public, officials 
have said.

   Facades of houses along the route from the new airport have been painted 
over as part of city beautification efforts, the newspaper Cumhuriyet reported.

   With a history of terrorist attacks, Turkey's capital is no stranger to 
tight security, but the measures being taken in connection with NATO appear to 
go beyond the usual.

   Authorities have also banned demonstrations, concerts, and graduation 
ceremonies during the summit, while nonessential state employees have been 
placed on leave to ease congestion.

   Security units have detained more than 200 people suspected of links to 
extremist groups, including the Islamic State group, authorities said. Media 
reports said that several activists, lawyers and an academic were caught up in 
the sweep.

   A Turkish court, meanwhile, blocked access to websites critical of NATO and 
the summit on security and public order grounds, according to Engelli Web, a 
website that tracks websites banned in Turkey. Several journalists from Turkish 
opposition-leaning media organizations were denied accreditation to cover the 
summit, sparking outrage from media rights groups.

   "In the history of the organization, we have never witnessed security 
measures as stringent and suffocating in a host city for a summit as we are 
seeing this time in Ankara," wrote Namik Tan, a former Turkish ambassador and 
legislator from Turkey's main opposition party.

   Personal trainer Selin Karakoc said she breathed a sigh of relief after she 
was told that her wedding on July 5 falls just before the start of the 
restrictions.

   "Ours could be one of the last weddings in Ankara that week," she joked.