Stoltenberg | “Turkey is an important ally, the second largest NATO military force”

“Turkey is an important ally, the second largest NATO military force and if you look at its location, it is at a critical point and size matters,” NATO Secretary General said today at an event of Youth and Leaders Summit 2021.

In particular, during his speech at the event, Jens Stoltenberg explained in detail that Turkey “borders Syria and Iraq, it has effectively fought the Islamists, ISIS, and NATO uses facilities on its territory to monitor the area with AWACS, while there is no other ally hosting more refugees.”

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He added that “it is no secret that there are disagreements and differences within NATO. Many allies are concerned about various issues concerning Turkey, such as the S-400 purchase or the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. I have also expressed my concerns. But I think we need to find ways to overcome those concerns and ensure that NATO is a platform for dialogue, honest dialogue among the Allies.” 

Jens Stoltenberg also referred to the de-confliction mechanism set up between Greece and Turkey “in order to avoid incidents and conflicts in the future, such as when the two countries were tense in the Aegean and the Mediterranean again and there were victims in the 1990s.” As he explained, “there is now a hotline between the two countries, talks are taking place, military exercises have been canceled, so the risk has been reduced. It is NATO’s contribution to the political dialogue and now Turkey and Greece are starting again direct exploratory contacts,” he concluded.

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Source: CNA