Türkiye's participation vital in Europe's defence, ready for Gaza mission: Defence Minister

Türkiye’s participation in the Europe-led defence initiatives, including the European Security Action Programme (SAFE), is vital for global and regional security, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler has said.

Guler underlined in a statement released on Thursday that Türkiye ranks among the top five nations contributing forces to NATO operations and its defence posture following the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group summit in Brussels.

The Turkish defence minister also reaffirmed Ankara’s determination to modernise its armed forces with advanced systems and to reach NATO’s 5 percent defence investment goal.

“We emphasised our contributions to Ukraine at the bilateral and NATO level, and our support for diplomatic efforts aimed at a ceasefire and peace,” the statement said.

Ready to contribute to Gaza task force

Defence Minister Guler also expressed satisfaction with the current ceasefire in Gaza, calling it a possible path to a fair two-state solution.

He urged the full implementation of the truce and stressed the need for uninterrupted humanitarian aid, pledging Türkiye’s continued assistance.

Guler also said that the Turkish Armed Forces are ready to join a multinational task force in Gaza, should such a mission be established.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal led by US President Donald Trump, aimed at ending over two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, during which Tel Aviv killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Türkiye is one of the guarantor countries, along with the US, Egypt, and Qatar, tasked with overseeing whether the ceasefire holds.

Marking over seventy years of NATO membership, Guler said Türkiye shared its national positions on regional and European security issues with its allies.

Türkiye also signed the memorandum for the Distributed Synthetic Training High-Visibility Project (HVP) that aims to respond to the ever-growing demand for multinational military training in a cost-effective way.