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Stoltenberg: Erdogan's closeness to Hamas, not problematic

2023-11-10 11:29:37, Kosova & Bota CNA
Stoltenberg: Erdogan's closeness to Hamas, not problematic
Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, does not see a problem for the alliance, in cases where the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan expresses support for the Palestinian group Hamas, - declared a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU - which is currently at war with Israel.

"It is never easy when we have different views within the alliance", said Stoltenberg, in an interview for the dpa news agency.

The head of the alliance said that, however, "this does not affect in any way what we do, because we are not playing a role in that specific conflict".

Following the brutal Hamas attacks on Israeli communities on October 7, in which over 1,400 people were killed, Erdogan described Hamas as a "liberation group".

As a result of the war in Gaza, Erdogan has severed contacts with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Netanyahu is no longer interlocutor for us in any way. We have erased him, we have crucified him", Erdogan said.

The Turkish president has on occasion described Israel as a "terrorist state" because of its treatment of Palestinians and has repeatedly presented himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.

So far, other NATO leaders have not been heard criticizing Erdogan.

Stoltenberg rejected speculations that the silence of NATO members could be related to holding Sweden's membership in the alliance hostage by Turkey.

"These are two separate issues", he said.

Turkey and Hungary are the only two countries that have not yet ratified Sweden's NATO membership agreement.

Turkey complains that Sweden has not done enough to fight what it calls Kurdish militants, an organization that Ankara considers terrorist./ REL





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