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NATO chief congratulates Erdogan on Turkey election win
LUXEMBOURG, June 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on
Monday congratulated Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-
election, but stressed the alliance was founded on “core values” of
democracy, rights and rule of law.
Erdogan won another five years in office in Sunday’s vote and immediately
pledged to implement changes that boost his authority, which opponents fear
will give him autocratic powers.
Turkey is an important member of NATO because of its strategic location
bordering Iraq and Syria and close to Russia, and has played a key role in
the fight against the Islamic State group in the Middle East.
But there have been tensions with other alliance members, notably over
Erdogan’s rapprochement with Moscow, signing a deal to buy Russian air
defence missiles, and with the US over the role of Kurdish fighters in the
battle against IS.
“I will congratulate President Erdogan on his re-election as president. I
also congratulate the Turkish people on the high turnout in the elections,”
Stoltenberg said as he arrived for a meeting with EU foreign and defence
ministers in Luxembourg.
A sweeping crackdown after a failed coup to unseat Erdogan has alarmed
many Western countries, with tens of thousands of people arrested.
“NATO is based on some core values: democracy, the rule of law, individual
liberty. I personally attach great importance to these values and I underline
the importance of these values in many different NATO capitals including
Ankara when I met Turkish leaders there,” Stoltenberg said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1608 hrs