Erdogan: Turkey has the largest land army in Europe and makes the greatest contribution to NATO missions
As a country with the largest land army in Europe, Turkey seeks to place its capabilities at the Alliance's disposal at the stages when they are needed.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made this statement at the 36th NATO summit of heads of state and government in Ankara.
“We are among the allies that make the greatest contribution to the Alliance's operations, missions, and exercises in Kosovo, the Black Sea region, the Baltic countries, and other regions,” he said.
According to him, Turkey has taken the necessary measures to increase the share of defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030: “As for security and sustainability-related expenditures, we have already reached a budget share of 1.5%. Thus, we set ourselves the goal of reaching the 5% indicator five years ahead of the deadline set for 2035.”
Erdogan called the breakthrough in the defense industry the main achievement of his country. “In terms of production and export volumes, we have entered the top ten countries in the world. We will fulfill almost all of the 361 capability targets assigned to us within the Alliance within three years — ahead of schedule. For the development of air and missile defense capabilities, the shortage of which is most acutely felt in the Alliance, we have allocated an additional $24 billion within our 'Steel Dome' project,” Erdogan noted.
Source: Sabah
