Turkey and France Sign Roadmap to Enhance Defense Cooperation

The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced yesterday the signing of a roadmap for defense cooperation with France, aiming to strengthen military relations and strategic dialogue between the two countries. In a statement posted on the Turkish social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the ministry said that Elkay Altındağ, the Undersecretary for Defense, held talks in France with Alice Ruffoy, the State Secretary for the French Ministry of Armed Forces, Vincent Giraud, head of the military office of the French President, and Guillaume Ollagnier, Director-General of International and Strategic Relations. The talks covered bilateral defense and military relations, strategic dialogue, and ways to develop existing areas of cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing the importance of continuing regular communications to achieve tangible results. The ministry added that both sides signed the aforementioned roadmap at the conclusion of the talks, a move aimed at enhancing military cooperation and strengthening strategic dialogue between Ankara and Paris. It noted that the roadmap comes within the framework of translating the positive messages exchanged between the leaderships of both countries in recent weeks into concrete defense cooperation. The Turkish Ministry of Defense further stated that the roadmap also aims to bolster strategic dialogue through regular and effective communications and to advance mutual-benefit-based cooperation between the two countries to higher levels.