US says Turkey is ‘long standing, valued ally’

Turkey is a “strong and valued ally,” a top US diplomat said yesterday, asserting that it is in the interest of NATO to have Ankara in the bloc, Anadolu news agency reported.

“It’s no secret that we have differences with Turkey, including over the S-400s, and including certain actions that it has taken, including in the Eastern Mediterranean,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Brussels.

However, he said: “It’s also no secret that Turkey is a long-standing and valued ally and one that I believe we have a strong interest in keeping anchored to NATO. And I believe that’s also in Turkey’s interest as well.”

His remarks came in an address with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the NATO foreign ministers meeting.

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Blinken also said NATO has shown its effectiveness in dealing with some disagreements, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean, “serving as a vehicle for deconfliction, for de-escalation, for finding a way forward.”

Calling it a “positive step,” the US official said the work on it must go on.

Stoltenberg, for his part, said, there are disagreements and concerns regarding Turkey’s decision to buy Russian S-400 air defence system and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, which he expressed to Ankara.

“At the same time, I strongly believe that NATO has to be a platform where allies also sit down together around the same table when there are differences. And then we address them, then we discuss them, and that’s exactly what we try to do,” he stated.

Stoltenberg said NATO could establish a de-confliction mechanism between Turkey and Greece to reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean, and NATO’s naval presence in the Aegean brought Turkey, Greece, and the EU together.