Turkey’s Membership ‘Not in Question’, NATO Says

NATO has said that Turkey’s membership of the Alliance isn't in question.

“NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO,” a spokesperson for the alliance said in a statement posted on the website of the organization.

The statement was issued “in view of speculative press reports about NATO's stance regarding the failed coup in Turkey and Turkey’s NATO membership”.

Turkey remains “a valued Ally” as NATO is faced with “the biggest security challenges in a generation”, according to the statement.

The statement was issued a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The visit aimed to improve ties between Ankara and Moscow soured by last year’s downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish fighter jets near the border with Syria.

The visit has “sparked concern that theNATO member is turning increasingly to the East as it feels rebuffed by the West over a host of issues such as EU membership and the West’s tepid response to the defeated July 15 coup,” according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.