Turkey Still Valued Ally; NATO Says Day After Putin-Erdogan Meet

A day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, NATO has released a press statement stating NATO's stance regarding the failed coup in Turkey and Turkey’s NATO membership.

“Turkey is a valued Ally, making substantial contributions to NATO's joint efforts.  Turkey takes full part in the Alliance’s consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation. Turkey’s NATO membership is not in question. Our Alliance is committed to collective defence and founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law. NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO,” the press statement read.

“The NATO Secretary General  had spoken to the Turkish Foreign Minister on the night of the attempted coup and later with President Erdogan, strongly condemning the attempted coup and reiterating full support for Turkey’s democratic institutions. He expressed support for the elected government of Turkey and respect for the courage of the Turkish people. He also conveyed his condolences for those who had lost their lives during the coup attempt,” it added.

It is believed that Russia had alerted Turkey's National Intelligence Organization about the military coup beforehand after Russian army had intercepted sensitive exchanges and encoded radio messages of the Turkish army from which it learnt of the coup attempt against the President in Ankara. The Russian intel agency had passed on the information to Turkey's NIO.

Russia’s surveillance and eavesdropping equipment, Krasukha-4 deployed near Latakia in Syria had hacked into Turkey’s NATO-compatible radio-electronics mounted on helicopters, aircraft and ground vehicles to learn of the impending coup attempt against Turkish president Erdogan.

A failed coup in Turkey gave way to a widespread crackdown by Erdogan on his opponents. Many Turks believed their allies in the West had failed to condemn to coup attempt harshly enough, and were too critical of the mass arrests. For Turkey, the détente with Russia was now an opportunity display its strategic options, CNN reported Tuesday.