“No problem for NATO”
Stoltenberg does not respond to Erdogan’s praise of Hamas
November 10, 2023, 5:38 a.m
While the West is on Israel’s side in the war in Gaza, NATO member Turkey is leaving. However, Erdogan’s eulogies to the Hamas terrorists are hardly commented on within the alliance. Secretary General Stoltenberg also places particular emphasis on the problem.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sees Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s closeness to the Islamist Hamas as no problem for the alliance. “It’s never easy when we have different views within the alliance,” said Stoltenberg in a dpa interview. But that has “in some ways no influence on what we do or don’t do because we don’t play a role in this particular conflict.”
For Erdogan, Hamas is a “liberation organization” After the terrorist attack on Israel with more than 1,400 deaths, Erdogan described the Islamist Hamas as a “liberation organization.” The USA and the EU, which are allies of Turkey in NATO, classify it as a terrorist organization. As a result of the Gaza war, Erdogan has broken off contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu is no longer any kind of interlocutor for us. We have deleted him, we have crossed him out,” says Erdogan. In the past, the Turkish president had described Israel as a “terrorist state” because of its Palestinian policy and had repeatedly portrayed himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
Hardly any criticism from NATO – Scholz wants to receive Erdogan
There has been little open criticism of Erdogan’s stance from NATO allies. This also applies to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who will probably receive Erdogan in Berlin next week. Stoltenberg rejected speculation that the allies’ reluctance could be related to Turkey’s pending ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO. “These are two very different issues,” he said.
The Turkish government only presented the documents for ratification to parliament after the start of the Gaza war. “So in the midst of this crisis, Turkey has implemented the agreement we reached at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July this year, where Sweden committed to doing more in the fight against terrorism.” Stoltenberg emphasized that no ally had suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey. He pointed out that the Kurdish PKK is also classified as a terrorist organization by the EU.
UN vote reveals NATO disunity
The 31 member states of NATO also voted very differently in the UN General Assembly when adopting the resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. Turkey voted in favor along with large EU states such as France and Spain. Germany, Great Britain and some other NATO members abstained. The USA and a few EU states such as the Czech Republic and Hungary voted with Israel against the resolution, which does not contain any criticism of Hamas.
“Even if the NATO allies agree on many basic principles, I do not try to hide the fact that there are also differences,” said Stoltenberg. But that is because NATO is an alliance of 31 nations and this conflict is extremely complex and dangerous. “And that is also why it is so important to continue to work for a peaceful negotiated solution.”
Stoltenberg cannot imagine a scenario in which NATO plays a role in the conflict. “NATO has never played a role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we do not seek a role in this conflict,” he said. NATO’s main task is to protect and defend the alliance’s territory. “Of course, in the event of the conflict escalating into a larger regional conflict, NATO must ensure that it is able to protect NATO territory.” But the main task now is to prevent such an escalation.