Türkiye now serves as ‘bridge between West and West’ through diplomacy: Head of Communications

Türkiye’s Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran has said Ankara is often viewed as a bridge between East and West, but in the face of new crisis, the country right now is a bridge “between West and West,” thanks to its diplomatic capabilities.

Duran was speaking at the NATO Allies in Ankara event on Tuesday, hosted in cooperation with the Communications Directorate, the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), and the Munich Security Conference.

“Türkiye is (a bridge) between West and West, through its diplomatic reach and its capacity to contribute to de-escalation,” Duran said.

Noting the country’s NATO membership for 74 years and its military capacity, which puts the country on the second rank among allies, Duran urged that Türkiye’s role in the alliance should be seen via its “strategic autonomy, operational experience and unique contribution to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Calling the NATO meeting in Ankara “another turning point in NATO’s historical evolution,” Duran said the challenges have changed since Türkiye’s first hosting the alliance summit in 2004.

“Twenty-two years ago, Istanbul summit marked NATO’s evolution from a Cold War defence alliance into a broader security actor. The dynamics of the international system and the challenges we faced in 2004 were fundamentally different from those we confront today,” he said.

Since the alliance has to address various challenges, including “a complex, fragmented and unpredictable security landscape shaped by renewed great power competition, regional conflicts, technological disruption, hybrid threats and an international system incapable of providing solutions to crises,” these shifts call on NATO members to reassess evolving threat perceptions and establish new shared priorities, Duran said.

Burden-sharing is essential in Alliance

Noting the crisis from Russia-Ukraine war to the Middle East, Duran urged NATO to treat challenges on its eastern and southern flanks as interconnected rather than separate, under NATO’s 360-degree approach to security.

From the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf to Syria, Iraq, the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the Sahel, these regions are increasingly part of the same security equation, he added.

“For that, we need coherent policy instruments and a shared understanding of how military and non-military tools can work together. This is where burden-sharing becomes essential. Defence spending is a valuable political commitment, but spending alone is not enough,” he said.

“What truly matters is building a multi-layered defence strategy that addresses threats such as AI-generated manipulation, cyber-attacks, disinformation and the erosion of public trust, while also investing in real military capacity.