On Thursday, June 22 the Atlantic Council organized the launch of the Defense Journal by the Atlantic Council IN TURKEY & Turkey Programs and a discussion on the unfulfilled potential and budding prospects for Turkish-American defense ties.

After a decade of deepening mutual disappointments and grievances, the tenor of the US-Turkish bilateral relationship shifted anew with Russia’s February 2022 offensive war against Ukraine. NATO has closed ranks, including Ankara – which has provided lethal aid to Ukraine for nearly a decade. The war has re-centered Western security priorities on NATO and hard power, leading to renewed interest moving beyond the grievances of recent years in order to better leverage Turkey’s military and diplomatic clout in the geopolitical contest in Ukraine and beyond. As Iranian-Russian defense cooperation has deepened and China contemplates Taiwan’s future in light of the war in Ukraine, American – Turkish strategic bilateral ties are once again an allied defense policy imperative, not a choice.