NATO emergency meeting

Members of the PKK have projected images of the terrorist organization's flag and its leader, Abdullah Öcalan, on the elevations of main public buildings in Sweden's capital Stockholm late on June 16.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sought to underscore the alliance's appreciation of Turkey as an "important ally."

He offered the conciliatory words to Ankara ahead of a planned gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey in Brussels next week to discuss Turkey's opposition to the Nordic countries joining the defense alliance.

NATO allies should encourage Finland and Sweden to take concrete steps regarding Turkey's concerns about the "support given to terror groups," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on May 27.

The minister reminded that Turkey's opposition to Finland and Sweden's NATO bid is due to their "support to terrorist organizations."

Turkey has called on Sweden and Finland to give concrete assurances in their fight against terrorism, particularly the PKK and its Syrian offshoot YPG, if they want to join NATO. The message was delivered to the Nordic states at a three-way meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara on May 25.

Turkey's foreign minister said on Aug. 28 that Ankara will "never accept the presence" of the PKK terror group in Iraq.

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Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said terrorism will never have a place in the future of the region and Iraq.

The Turkish foreign minister on June 27 met his Canadian and Lithuanian counterparts separately in Rome.

"Met with the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Lithuania, Marc Garneau and Gabrielius Landsbergis in Rome, where we came to attend the Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL and the Ministerial with limited participation on Syria," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.

Turkey's defense chief on Feb. 18 highlighted at a NATO meeting of defense ministers the importance of unity and solidarity among allies in the fight against terrorism.

At the virtual meeting, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar cautioned that license restrictions, sanctioning attempts, and threats against Turkey would weaken the alliance.

NATO's political dimension should be strengthened, and a group of 10 experts has been formed for this purpose, Turkey's foreign minister said on April 2. 

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made the remarks after attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting, noting the group includes Turkey's Ambassador Tacan İldem, who has been working as NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy.

Turkey's recent deals with the United States and Russia have encouraged NATO to seek a political solution to the Syrian turmoil, the secretary-general of the alliance has said.

Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has sharply criticized the U.S. for providing support to groups in northern Syria linked to the PKK terrorist organization despite repeated warnings from its NATO ally Turkey and consequently creating a deep rift between Washington and Ankara.