<p class="article-summary" kralbet data-panel-id=”article_summary”> Erdogan: If the alliance does not recognize the turks ‘ battle against “terrorists”, going Turkey to the defense of the Baltics.
Turkey will oppose Nato plans for the defense of the baltic states, if the alliance does not recognize the groups, as the turks are fighting against, as terrorists.
It says the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ahead of a NATO summit in London.
Erdogan makes a statement in Ankara early on Tuesday.
the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in an interview published on Tuesday that the alliance will respond to any attack against Poland or the three baltic states.
– By the presence of Nato forces in Poland and the baltic countries, we are sending a very strong message to Russia: If there should be an attack against Poland or against the baltic states, so will the entire alliance to respond, he says.
the UNITED states has invited Turkey to provide support to a Nato defensive plan for the Baltic states and Poland, but the turks have so far rejected this. Turkey says Nato must give Ankara more political support in its struggle against the kurdish militsgrupper in Syria.
Turkey refers to the kurdish groups in Syria, which is believed to have ties to the forbidden workers ‘ party PKK as “terrorists”.
the Group of The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by kurderen Mazloum Abdi from the kurdish YPG militia, which, according to the turks is a terrorist group because of links to the kurdish PKK movement.
the UNITED states was allied with the SDF in the fight against the Islamic State and the YPG militia has played a central role in the repression of the Islamic State in Syria.
Nato leaders gather later on Tuesday for a two-day summit in London to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance’s creation.
Forsvarsalliancen was created in 1949 and composed of 29 member countries.
/ritzau/Reuters
