NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Türkiye's strategic importance to the alliance on Monday, highlighting its military capabilities, defense industry and geographic position ahead of this week's NATO leaders' summit in Ankara.
Speaking at a news conference in the Turkish capital, Rutte said hosting the summit in Ankara reflected Türkiye's central role within the alliance.
"Your leadership in NATO is important. Your place on the map is important. Holding the summit here in Ankara is very important," he said.
Rutte described Türkiye as one of NATO's key contributors to collective defense, pointing to its armed forces and expanding defense industrial base.
"Türkiye plays a very important role in defense. It has one of NATO's best armed forces," he said.
