The praise from political Islamists and nationalists for the NATO, an imperialist war machine that has brought exploitation and death to every corner of the world since its inception, seems endless. The same mentality that once bowed to the 6th Fleet anchored in the Bosphorus is now burning with a passion for NATO. While the entire country, especially Ankara, has been placed under a blockade ahead of the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on 7–8 July, right-wingers cannot stop praising NATO.

Speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Summit held in Istanbul in recent days, President from the AKP Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared his positive messages regarding the war organisation, stating, "Türkiye is among the leading allies that have contributed to NATO's security for over 70 years." Meanwhile, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli remarked at his group meeting, "Even during the gloomy and threat-filled years of the Cold War, Türkiye carried out the duty of being NATO’s indestructible fortress." Bahçeli added, "The Turkish soldier, who wrote epics in the mountains of Korea, declared the friendship, loyalty, and unwavering, unyielding wrist of the Turk to the whole world with his blood and life long before the NATO membership had even gained official status."

During his visits in Ottawa while on a trip to Canada, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, following his praise-filled remarks regarding the future of NATO, stated, "In NATO planning and NATO meetings, the defence industry has ceased to be a detailed subject and has become a matter that carries strategic meaning at the highest level."

CRITICISM OF THE OPPOSITION

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, in a statement made on his social media account, said, "Özgür Özel has also questioned Türkiye’s role within NATO. It is rare to see such an approach so detached from the world. The whole world is talking about Türkiye's strong role within NATO and its increasing weight for regional and global security. The opposition in Türkiye, however, continues to go in the opposite direction."

Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler participated in the conference titled "NATO's Ankara Time," organised by the Directorate of Communications and the SETA Foundation in recent months. Güler expressed, "Since its establishment in 1949, NATO continues its existence as the most deep-rooted and longest-lasting alliance in the international security architecture, institutionalising the principle of collective defence that aims to protect the security of member countries."

Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran said, "As Türkiye, we are greatly pleased to host the 2026 NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government."

THEY WERE EMBARRASSED BY THE CITIZENS

Criticism from opposition parties continues. In his statements at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM), CHP Spokesperson Zeynel Emre touched upon the NATO summit operations and stated that the detention of people for no reason is unacceptable. Expressing his reaction by saying, "People with no previous criminal records, academics, are now in prison," Emre stated that the accusations made are not at all realistic. Emre also said that preventing journalists who will attend the summit from doing their jobs is unacceptable.

Imprisoned Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu also reacted to the government due to the measures taken ahead of the summit, stating, "The picture that emerged in Ankara before the NATO Summit once again revealed the government's distrust of its own people."

Workers' Party of Türkiye (TİP) Chairman Erkan Baş reminded that the "NATO Summit was organised to create new wars and continue existing ones." Emphasising that NATO "will not take any decision for the benefit of humanity," Baş described the summit as "a summit of war merchants and death barons."

PRAISE FOR THE GOVERNMENT

On the other hand, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte answered questions from an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels regarding Türkiye's contributions to NATO ahead of the summit. Rutte stated that defence spending should be increased and support for Ukraine should continue. Speaking on the "NATO 3.0" concept introduced by Trump, Rutte said that Canadians and Europeans need to spend more on defence, noting that "NATO 3.0" represents a structure different from "NATO 2.0," where there is excessive dependence on the USA. He stated that the USA will maintain its presence in Europe with both its conventional military capacity and nuclear deterrence. However, he messaged that in the coming period, "We will see a NATO where Europe assumes more responsibility," signaling a more ruthless stance against Russia and China.

THEY COLLECTED STRAY ANIMALS

The government, which effectively declared a state of emergency for the NATO Summit, had stray animals collected to appear pleasing to the imperialists. Ankara Governor Yakup Canpolat showed the collection of stray animals as a feat in a statement on his social media account. Canpolat stated, "My fellow citizens of Ankara, as of today, we have reached the number of 52,000 in the work of collecting the 52,000 stray animals identified in our province of Ankara in 2024. If there are any remaining unidentified ones, search/scanning and collection efforts will continue meticulously."

OBJECTION FOR TEMA VOLUNTEERS

Lawyers for the TEMA Foundation volunteers who were arrested in the operation conducted before the NATO Summit have appealed against the arrests. The petition stated that attempts were made to determine the volunteers' addresses by asking their neighbours a few days after the trip. The TEMA volunteers were among the 178 people arrested following the operation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Yesterday, 75-year-old TEMA volunteer Ayten Yakut was released with a ban on travelling abroad. Meanwhile, CHP’s Aylin Nazlıaka visited Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emel Memiş, an academic who was arrested before the NATO Summit, at Sincan Prison. In a note she conveyed to Nazlıaka, Memiş said, "I have fought for peace and equality my whole life. My mind cannot grasp how they could put 'terrorist organisation' membership side by side with me. I will hold them accountable for every hour, every second we spend in this institution where we are imprisoned."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Sağcının NATO aşkı depreşti, published in BirGün newspaper on July 2, 2026.