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This week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid an important visit to Turkiye to meet with his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For the UK, Turkiye has long been a vital partner — not only in Europe, but also on the global stage. At the height of the Cold War, this importance was made clear in a since-declassified 1979 memo prepared for Margaret Thatcher on her second day as prime minister.

The document laid out Turkiye’s central role in Europe’s defense: “If Turkiye abandoned her Western orientation, a number of strongly adverse military consequences would follow for the West, even if she did not align with the Soviet Union… The military position would be the more serious if the Soviet Union were herself able to exploit Turkish airspace or, worse, given use of Turkiye’s airfields. In that event, the Eastern Mediterranean might become untenable by NATO in time of tension or war.”

In this sense, little has changed regarding Turkiye’s important role in European security. Here, Starmer was building on the progress first made by one of his predecessors, David Cameron, who 15 years ago set out to deepen relations between the UK and Turkiye. But engagement has gone back centuries.

England first established ties with the Ottoman Empire in 1580. As with all relations in international affairs, the relationship between the two peoples has had its ups and downs. One notable high point came in the 1850s when Britain allied with the Ottoman Empire and France to defeat Russia during the Crimean War.

A more recent low occurred on the eve of the First World War when the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill requisitioned two British-built warships that the Ottomans had already paid for — a move that infuriated Istanbul and helped push the Ottoman Empire toward the Central Powers. During the early years of the Cold War, the UK and Turkiye became important partners and allies in NATO.

In more recent years, there is no denying that the foundation of Anglo-Turkish relations has been built on a shared understanding of major geopolitical issues. So it is unsurprising that the main announcement from Starmer’s recent visit was the sale of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft by the UK to Turkiye. This deal, worth around $10.5 billion, marks a new high point in Anglo-Turkish relations.

It is a win-win arrangement for both sides. With the US reluctant to reintegrate Turkiye into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Ankara needed to fill a crucial gap in its air capabilities. Meanwhile, the deal is expected to support thousands of jobs across the UK defense supply chain. With the government under pressure and the British economy facing headwinds, the announcement of thousands of well-paid, high-tech jobs will be welcomed by Starmer’s supporters.

In addition to the major Eurofighter sale, several other important outcomes from Starmer’s visit received less attention. For example, both the UK and Turkiye have committed to relaunch the Tatli Dil Forum, an initiative originally launched in 2011 by Cameron and his Turkish counterpart to strengthen cooperation across trade, culture, education, and security.

The annual meetings alternated between London and Istanbul, and brought together senior government officials and business leaders. However, the pandemic and shifting priorities in both capitals caused the forum to lose momentum. The decision to revive it sends a positive signal about the renewed depth of the partnership.

With the NATO summit set to be hosted in Ankara in 2026, transatlantic security was also likely high on the agenda. In this regard, both the UK and Turkiye face a similar predicament. As the EU has slowly awakened to the need for greater defense investment, some members have been hesitant to include non-EU partners in these initiatives.

It would be short-sighted for the EU to exclude either the UK or Turkiye from its emerging defense frameworks. Turkiye now boasts one of Europe’s most dynamic and innovative defense industries, especially in the unmanned systems sector, while the UK remains both a top global defense exporter and one of NATO’s most capable militaries.

One topic likely discussed, but in private, was Cyprus. In 1960, Cyprus gained independence from British rule, prompting the need for a Treaty of Guarantee between Greece, the UK, and Turkiye to ensure the island’s independence and constitutional order. Under that arrangement, all three became guarantor powers for the island’s security, and the UK retained sovereign base areas for its forward military operations in the Middle East and beyond.

In July 1974, a coup in Cyprus — backed by the Greek junta at the time — brought to power a Greek nationalist leader calling for the island’s unification with Greece. Turkiye then intervened under the authority of the 1960 treaty to protect the island’s ethnic Turkish population, leading to the de facto partitioning of the island today. In the decades since, little progress has been made toward resolving one of Europe’s longest-standing geopolitical disputes.

In sum, Starmer’s visit could not have come at a better time. The UK and Turkiye play a crucial role in Europe’s defense. As two capable military powers, both benefit from cooperation and can serve as a stabilizing force in the region through their joint membership of NATO.

The sale of Eurofighters to Turkiye can only enhance Europe’s security. With NATO preparing for its summit in Ankara in 2026, Starmer’s visit and the agreements between the two leaders offer a solid starting point for renewed strategic partnership.

Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey