NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed full support for the
Turkish government during a telephone call with President Tayyip Erdoğan
on July 18, saying there could be no room for military coups in a NATO member state, Reuters reported, citing a senior Turkish official.
The official said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also spoken by phone with Erdoğan on July 18 and had denounced the coup attempt as unacceptable.
Merkel reportedly told Erdoğan on the phone that Ankara
must stick to the rule of law in response to the failed coup and that
recent wave of arrests and dismissals in Turkey after the coup attempt
is a cause for great concern, the German government’s spokesperson has said.
She
also told Erdoğan that reintroducing the death penalty is “in no way
compatible” with the goal of EU membership and that Germany “vehemently”
opposes the reinstatement of it.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said NATO
will be scrutinizing Turkey in the coming days to ensure that it
fulfills the alliance’s requirement that members adhere to democratic
governance, the Washington Post reported on July 18.
“NATO also has a requirement with respect to democracy,” Kerry said after a meeting on E.U.-U.S. relations on July 18.
Kerry
said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has repeatedly assured
him that the government will respect democracy and the law, and he
warned that NATO will “measure” Turkey’s actions.
“Obviously,
a lot of people have been arrested and arrested very quickly,” Kerry
said. “The level of vigilance and scrutiny is obviously going to be
significant in the days ahead. Hopefully we can work in a constructive
way that prevents a backsliding.”
