NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Turkey had briefed the alliance on the issue of its operations in Syria’s Afrin last week, expressing hope that these contacts will continue.
"Turkey has briefed NATO on the operation Olive Branch, they did so last week, and I have been in regular contact with the Turkish leadership, including with president [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan regarding the situation in Syria and the operation Olive Branch. I expect Turkey to continue to brief allies," he told reporters.
Stoltenberg said that Turkey had the right to address its security concerns.
"Turkey has legitimate security concerns, and no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey, and of course, they have the right to address these security concerns. But they should do that in a proportionate and measured way," he stressed.
Turkish AKP government officially declared on January 20 the launch of an offensive in Afrin region in northwest Syria. Government's excuse was the threat against national interests and border security.
Afrin has become the bargaining table of Erdoğan vis-à-vis NATO and the U.S.
