Kaya Kallas, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made important statements regarding Turkey's strategic weight in the alliance, its role in the region, and the discussions about a European army, ahead of the NATO Leaders' Summit to be held in Ankara.
Modern.az reports that Kallas, who visited Turkey with an official delegation, emphasized that Ankara is one of the key players in ensuring stability in both the Middle East and the Caucasus region.
Kaya Kallas highly appreciated Turkey's place in the European security architecture and in the region:
"Turkey is an EU candidate country. Although there are disagreements on some issues within the Union, from a NATO perspective, Turkey has the alliance's second largest army and a very strong defense industry. In this regard, it holds an extremely important position. In the context of Europe's overall security and especially stability in the Caucasus, we need to maintain continuous dialogue with Turkey."
The EU official, who firmly answered "No" to the question "Does Europe need a single army?", drew attention to the risk of duplication. She stated that each member state has its own army and they are already part of NATO's common defense system. Kallas said that it is impossible to establish a second army that would be subordinate to European leadership, and noted that the main goal is to strengthen existing capabilities and make the "European wing" within NATO more effective.
