Turkey/NATO/Norway – NATO apologised to Turkey on the 17 Nov 17 after Ankara pulled its troops from a military exercise in Norway to protest incidents deemed insulting to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the country's modern founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, himself Norwegian, moved quickly to say sorry after an angry intervention by Erdogan on an episode that risked creating further strife between Turkey and its allies. The incidents took place during NATO's "Trident Javelin" exercise in the southern Norwegian city of Stavanger aimed at increasing coordination between the allies at headquarters level, which wound up on the 17 Nov 17. Erdogan said that Ankara had withdrawn its 40 troops from the exercise in protest, adding: "It's not possible to have this kind of alliance." Norway's Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen also expressed "regret" over the incident. NATO gave no details on the nature of the incident, saying only that "offence had been caused". But Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said that an image of Ataturk had been used to portray an enemy protagonist in a scenario. In a second incident a chat account was opened under Erdogan's name during a virtual scenario as a collaborator with a "leader of an enemy state". Without going into detail, Erdogan said an image of Ataturk and his own name were used "and these were the targets". He said Turkey's top general Hulusi Akar and EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik, who were on their way to a NATO conference in Halifax, Canada, had informed him of the incident. "They said 'this has happened... and we are going to take out our 40 soldiers'," Erdogan said while speaking in front of giant pictures of himself and Ataturk. "And I said 'Absolutely, don't hesitate, take them out right now'." Ataturk founded modern Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and is widely credited with salvaging a functioning Turkish state in the 1919-1923 War of Independence. Insulting his memory is a criminal offence in Turkey that is punishable by jail. While critics accuse Erdogan of tainting the secular vision of Ataturk, the president has in recent months made increasingly clear his admiration for Turkey's modern founder. On the November 10 anniversary of Ataturk's death in 1938, Erdogan eulogised Turkey's first president, saying he should be remembered with "grace and gratitude". Turkey, which became a member of NATO in 1952, is a key member of the alliance but tensions have grown in recent months over its crackdown after a failed coup and Ankara's increasingly close alliance with Russia. Its Western allies have been particularly troubled by a deal for Ankara to purchase an S-400 air defence system from Russia and the cooperation between Ankara, Moscow and Tehran on the Syria crisis. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, in his apology emphasised the importance of Turkey within the alliance. "I apologise for the offence that has been caused. The incidents were the result of an individual's actions and do not reflect the views of NATO," Stoltenberg said in a statement. "Turkey is a valued NATO ally, which makes important contributions to allied security." The Trident Javelin exercise in Stavanger is described on a NATO website as a "computer assisted exercise without troops on the ground", aimed at improving command structures for major operations. Stoltenberg also said the individual responsible for the incident was not a NATO staff member. "He was a civilian contractor seconded by Norway and not a NATO employee," Stoltenberg said. "It will be for the Norwegian authorities to decide on any disciplinary action. NATO has been in contact with the Norwegian authorities on this issue." Anadolu said the "technician" who made the error was not aware that the image used had showed Ataturk and had apologised.
Turkey/Russia/Iran/Syria – Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host his Iranian and Turkish counterparts at his official residence in the coastal city of Sochi to discuss the Syrian conflict it was reported on the 19 Nov 17. The event on the 22 Nov 17 will be preceded by a meeting on the 26 Nov 17 in Turkey's resort city of Antalya between the three countries' foreign ministers. It comes days after Russia vetoed a US-initiated draft United Nations Security Council resolution on extending the mandate of the UN's mission for investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the Japan-initiated draft on a provisional extension of the mission's mandate. US Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Moscow of dealing a "deep blow" to international efforts to deter chemical attacks, saying it bodes ill for Russia's future role in Syrian peace efforts. "How, then, can we trust Russia's supposed support for peace in Syria? How can anyone take Russia's proposal of political talks in Sochi seriously?" she asked.
The choice of participants
According to Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, the summit will include only these three countries, because they are the "guarantors of the political settlement and stability and security that we see now in Syria". The trio brokered a ceasefire in Syria in December 2016 and held peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana in parallel to UN-backed negotiations in Geneva. The collaboration comes despite the fact that Turkey is still officially on an opposing side of the Syrian conflict to Russia and Iran, who support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu credited the unlikely alliance for the improved situation in Syria over the past six months. "Since Aleppo, we have been cooperating with Russia, and we have made a lot of progress," he said. "Eventually, we also included Iran to the system and to the process. And here is the result: The situation on the ground is much better than it was six months ago."
The agenda
Turkey's presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said that the three leaders would discuss progress in reducing the violence in Syria and ensuring humanitarian aid goes to those in need. Describing Iran, Russia and Turkey as the three "guarantor" countries, he said the talks would look at what they could do towards a lasting political solution in Syria. According to Russia's Tass news agency, the summit will pay special attention to the situation in Idlib, a de-escalation zone where the three states have been deploying observers. Cavusoglu said on the 17 Nov 17 that Putin and Turkish President Erdogan could also discuss Russia's veto of the latest UN resolution on Syria.
Turkey/Russia/Iran/Syria – Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host his Iranian and Turkish counterparts at his official residence in the coastal city of Sochi to discuss the Syrian conflict it was reported on the 19 Nov 17. The event on the 22 Nov 17 will be preceded by a meeting on the 26 Nov 17 in Turkey's resort city of Antalya between the three countries' foreign ministers. It comes days after Russia vetoed a US-initiated draft United Nations Security Council resolution on extending the mandate of the UN's mission for investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the Japan-initiated draft on a provisional extension of the mission's mandate. US Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Moscow of dealing a "deep blow" to international efforts to deter chemical attacks, saying it bodes ill for Russia's future role in Syrian peace efforts. "How, then, can we trust Russia's supposed support for peace in Syria? How can anyone take Russia's proposal of political talks in Sochi seriously?" she asked.
The choice of participants
According to Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, the summit will include only these three countries, because they are the "guarantors of the political settlement and stability and security that we see now in Syria". The trio brokered a ceasefire in Syria in December 2016 and held peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana in parallel to UN-backed negotiations in Geneva. The collaboration comes despite the fact that Turkey is still officially on an opposing side of the Syrian conflict to Russia and Iran, who support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu credited the unlikely alliance for the improved situation in Syria over the past six months. "Since Aleppo, we have been cooperating with Russia, and we have made a lot of progress," he said. "Eventually, we also included Iran to the system and to the process. And here is the result: The situation on the ground is much better than it was six months ago."
The agenda
Turkey's presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said that the three leaders would discuss progress in reducing the violence in Syria and ensuring humanitarian aid goes to those in need. Describing Iran, Russia and Turkey as the three "guarantor" countries, he said the talks would look at what they could do towards a lasting political solution in Syria. According to Russia's Tass news agency, the summit will pay special attention to the situation in Idlib, a de-escalation zone where the three states have been deploying observers. Cavusoglu said on the 17 Nov 17 that Putin and Turkish President Erdogan could also discuss Russia's veto of the latest UN resolution on Syria.
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