Turkey Joins Three Seas Summit, NATO Drills, and Syria Mission in Massive Power Play

Turkey Joins Three Seas Summit, NATO Drills, and Syria Mission in Massive Power Play Turkey has thrown its weight behind three major international operations this week, joining a key regional infrastructure summit in Croatia, deploying homegrown tech in NATO's biggest drills, and signing on to destroy Syria's last chemical weapons. The Turkish Foreign Minister represented President Erdogan at the 11th Three Seas Initiative summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which brings together countries from the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Sea regions to improve infrastructure, energy, and transport links [135369]. Meanwhile, Turkish naval and army units are conducting amphibious operations in Germany as part of the large-scale NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2026, showcasing domestically produced defense platforms alongside allied nations [80228]. The deployment follows Turkey earlier this year sending 2,000 troops to Germany for NATO's Steadfast Defender 24 drills in February [70222]. Separately, Turkey has joined a new international task force led by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) aimed at finding and eliminating the final remnants of Syria's chemical weapons program [106495]. The mission will provide training, equipment, and technical support to safely detect and destroy remaining chemical materials, critical due to Turkey's border with Syria [106495]. Earlier this month, Turkey assumed command of a major NATO naval force, taking control of the NATO Amphibious Task Force and its Landing Force Command for one year starting July 1 [54453]. Turkey has also sealed three major international agreements in one day — an investment protection pact and trade deal with Hong Kong, and ratification of the UN's High Seas Treaty for ocean conservation [36056]. The moves come as the Defense Industries Presidency set a new target for companies to achieve $300,000 in export turnover per employee by 2026, aiming to place Turkey among the world's most productive defense exporters [63530]. Türkiye joins Three Seas summit in Croatia Turkish Forces Deploy Homegrown Tech in Major NATO Drill Turkey Joins Mission to Destroy Syria's Last Chemical Weapons Turkey Assumes Command of Key NATO Naval Strike Force NATO's Biggest 2024 Drill Begins with Turkish Troops Landing in Germany Turkey Seals Key Deals with Hong Kong and UN in Single Day Turkey Aims for Elite Status, Sets $300,000-Per-Employee Export Goal