Şırnak/Anadolu

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said that the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the capital Ankara is important in terms of reaffirming commitment to the alliance's future.

He made the remarks during a live broadcast on Turkish channel TRT on Sunday.

Kurtulmuş explained that NATO is forced to enter a new phase.

He pointed out that Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 opened a new era in the European continent, and that the European Union was unable to show a strong stance on that, and that NATO did not provide any clear perspective at the time.

He added: "Therefore, the European continent found itself in a state of great weakness vis-à-vis Russia, especially regarding security needs."

Kurtulmuş noted that Europe has had a serious security need for 10 to 12 years, and that the victory of US President Donald Trump for a second term added a new dimension to the scene.

He stated that Trump conveyed a message to Europe that he would not bear its burden.

The Turkish Parliament Speaker considered that this reveals serious disparities in the Euro-Atlantic vision.

He continued: "Therefore, we see that this summit is important in terms of reaffirming commitment to the future of NATO."

He stressed the need for a 'new concept' to emerge within NATO.

On defense spending, Kurtulmuş said that one of the most prominent issues raised at the NATO meeting in Brussels last year was the allocation by alliance countries of 5 percent of their gross national product to defense spending.

He explained that this target is very far for most European countries.

Kurtulmuş pointed out that there is a clear lack of investment in defense industries in many of them in recent years.

He noted that Turkey stands out in this field, saying it has become a country 'that draws attention and is able to compete with many countries in the world' thanks to its new defense products.

Ankara will host the NATO summit next Tuesday and Wednesday, for the second time after the 'Istanbul 2004' summit.