Turkish Lawmaker:

NATO Declares 'Psychological War' on Turkey

TEHRAN (defapress)- The deputy head of the Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) parliamentary faction Erkan Akcay said that NATO has declared a psychological war on Turkey and Ankara should think about its withdrawal from the Alliance.

News ID: 67086

Date: 21 November 2017 - 14:20

The Turkish lawmaker made the comments after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday his decision to withdraw 40 Turkish servicemen from the Trident Javelin NATO drills in Norway after he and founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had been listed as enemies during the exercise, Sputnik reported.

These developments show that NATO starts to wage a psychological war against Turkey. That is why, we are speaking about raising the issue of the need for NATO membership. The Alliance shows a number of features hostile toward Turkey," Akcay said, pointing out that the alliance distributed through its channels a map of the 1920 Sevres Treaty, which envisaged Turkey's partition.

The politician noted that Ankara respected all the principles lying in the foundation of the Alliance, while NATO had not fulfilled its obligations in the relations with Turkey.

"The withdrawal from NATO should not be regarded as the apocalypse… Today's Turkey is not a country, which it was in 1952, date of Turkish accession to NATO, is not a country, whose existence depends on NATO. Turkey is a country, which can legitimately protect interests of the Turkish nation, its will and position," Akcay added.

Hasan Bitmez, the deputy head of the opposition Turkish Saadet Party, Felicity Party, echoed Akcay's remarks, by saying that Ankara should think about ways to ensure its security outside the bloc.

"The NATO priorities focus on its own interests. The Alliance wants to use Turkey as a shield, which can protect it from outside threats. That is why, it is necessary to revise the Turkish-NATO relations. The security of Turkey and security of West are two different things… That must be understood. So Turkey should find a new concept of security outside the NATO structure," Bitmez told Sputnik.

The politician added that NATO was unlikely to make friendly steps toward Turkey and its allies in the future.

Meantime, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has offered his apologies to the Turkish president for the insults inflicted during the drills in Norway.