The Turkish envoy to NATO, Fatih Ceylan, said Friday that Turkey demands "full solidarity" from its allies in the fight against terrorism.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency ahead of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, Ceylan said that Turkey faces multilateral terror threats from Daesh, the PKK, the Revolutionary People's Party-Front (DHKP-C), and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Turkey's permanent NATO representative called on Turkey's NATO allies to act "in full solidarity, unity and integrity."
He said the NATO meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday would "provide an additional platform and opportunity for us to express our sensitivities with regards to the fight against terrorism."The envoy added that Turkey supports the improvement of the NATO-EU cooperation to strengthen security against common threats, as long as this cooperation would be conducted within the scope of already existing agreements and rules that the two parties have agreed on.
He said that Turkey has a positive and flexible view over taking the cooperation between the EU and NATO to the next level, emphasizing that the inclusion of non-EU member NATO allies to EU policies is important.
"It is important to include the NATO allies that are not members of EU to the EU's joint security and defense policies," he stated.
Ceylan further expressed that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also supports this view. He said that Stoltenberg thinks that NATO has an open mind towards some EU countries, particularly Sweden and Finland, which should be responded likewise by the EU as well.
"We cannot see the similar principled attitude form the EU authorities and there have not been any expansion regarding this issue from their side till this day. We are not content, they could not offer us a model that would satisfy Turkey," he added while indicating that their disappointment over the issue continues.
FM Çavuşoğlu visits Brussels to attend NATO Foreign Ministers meetingMinister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is set to travel to Brussels to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting on Dec. 5-6. The meeting is considered significant, as it will contribute to discussions on regional developments ahead of the 2018 NATO Summit.
A press release from the Foreign Ministry states, "The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss among allies the contributions of NATO to the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic region as well as its response to the global security challenges in the run-up to the 2018 NATO Summit."
During the meeting, the Open Door Policy of the Alliance and the position of NATO vis-a-vis the aspirant countries, NATO's role in the fight against terrorism, NATO-Russia relations and cooperation with the EU will be on the agenda of the foreign ministers.
According to the statement from the foreign ministry, allies will also meet with Georgia's Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze within the framework of the NATO-Georgia Commission. Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu is expected to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts during his visit to Brussels.
As the recent NATO drill incident caused tension between NATO and Turkey, the issue is also expected to be discussed between the Turkish foreign minister and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Due to a chart listing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as "enemies" during a NATO exercise in Norway, Turkey announced that it withdrew 40 troops from the exercise. An apology came from Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen. Stoltenberg also issued an apology over the issue.
Following the "enemy chart" incident, officials from NATO stressed that Turkey continues to be a significant ally and added that the bloc values the contributions of the country. Turkey is also reassured that the incident will not be repeated. "Turkey contributes to the fight against terrorism on the Iraqi and Syrian borders through various means and is also an important ally in our activities on the Black Sea coast near the Russian border," Stoltenberg stated last month.