Turkish minister says NATO content with Ankara's offensive in Syria

"There is no negative attitude of the secretary general to the Olive Branch
Friday, 16 February 2018 19:21

NATO has raised no objections to the ongoing Ankara's military operation dubbed Olive Branch, which is ongoing in northern Syrian Afrin district, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Thursday.

On Wednesday, the two-day meeting of NATO Defense Ministers started in Brussels. On the sidelines of this event, Canikli held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"The NATO secretary general has always been one of the people, who has a very positive stance on our struggle against external threats and I am grateful to him for it. There is no negative attitude of the secretary general to the Olive Branch. The NATO member states also accept our activities in Afrin understandingly. There is no talk about NATO's demand to end the operation," Canikli told Turkish reporters in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on February 13 that Turkey had the right to address its security concerns.

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.