Turkey and the United Kingdom signed a security and defense agreement Wednesday, with officials from both sides confirmi...

Turkey and the United Kingdom signed a security and defense agreement Wednesday, with officials from both sides confirming the deal but refusing to release its full text, according to sources who spoke to Middle East Eye. The agreement commits both countries to closer cooperation across several areas including defense industry collaboration, counterterrorism, hybrid threats, and cybersecurity. Officials described it as a "comprehensive" deal, though they declined to specify the exact scope of the mutual defense commitments involved. The pact was signed during a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Wednesday. Ankara and Downing Street are not expected to publish the text, a decision sources say reflects the sensitivity of what it contains. One source familiar with the document said the agreement moves "in the same spirit" as the bilateral defense pact France and Greece signed in 2021. That Greece-France agreement includes a mutual defense assistance clause. Sources were careful to avoid confirming whether the Turkey-UK deal contains a similar provision. The signing builds on a Strategic Partnership Framework Turkey and the UK put in place back in April, which was framed around strengthening dialogue between the two NATO allies. Relations between Ankara and London have warmed significantly since Turkey moved last July to purchase Eurofighter Typhoon jets in a multi-billion dollar deal. The secrecy around the full text has drawn attention, with analysts noting that no comparable NATO bilateral agreement in recent years has been withheld from public view in this way. #Turkey #NATO #UKDefense