New NATO chief to visit Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jens Stoltenberg, the new NATO secretary-general, is set to pay his first visit to Turkey since he took office on Oct 1. Stoltenberg is expected to discuss the security threat posed by the Islamic State (IS), Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“At the meetings, a detailed exchange of views on growing instability in the Middle East, primarily Iraq and Syria, and current situation in Ukraine, as well as other principal issues on NATO’s agenda in light of the Wales Summit decisions are expected to take place,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday, Oct 8.

Stoltenberg will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and will hold talks with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during a working breakfast. He is also expected to meet with Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and Chief of General Staff General Necdet Özel. Besides, the secretary-general will visit the U.S. Patriot units deployed to Gaziantep on Oct 10.

Stoltenberg’s visit comes at a critical moment as the Islamic State (IS) intensifies its campaign to seize control of the Kurdish-populated town of Kobane right across from the Turkish border. NATO has already pledged to activate the alliance’s principle of collective defense as outlined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty in the case of an attack directed against Turkey.