NATO head sees coup bomb damage at Turkish parliament

By Alper Atalay

ANKARA

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met opposition leaders at the Turkish parliament on Friday in a show of solidarity after the defeated July 15 coup.

Speaking to reporters, Stoltenberg said visiting areas bombed during the coup attempt was touching for him. He added it was impressive to learn what the Turkish people did to protect their democracy.

Stoltenberg said the coup attempt was not just directed against Turkish democracy “but also against NATO allies and NATO values”.

The NATO head met Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu during his visit. The encounter, held at the CHP’s parliamentary group meeting hall, was closed to the media.

Stoltenberg held another closed meeting for 30 minutes with the deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Mehmet Gunal and MHP parliamentary group vice president Erkan Akcay.

A 30-minute private meeting was also held with Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Hisyar Ozsoy.

The NATO chief also met deputy chairman of parliament Akif Hamzacebi, a CHP lawmaker.

Hamzacebi said Turkish democracy had been given a very important examination in face of the July 15 coup attempt.

“It once more emerged that the greatest power in democracy is a nation which always believed in democracy,” Hamzacebi said.

Later on Friday, Stoltenberg met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim at Cankaya Palace in Ankara. The meeting was closed to the press and lasted about an hour.

Stoltenberg started his two-day visit to Turkey on Thursday, his fifth since he took on his NATO role in October 2014.

On Thursday evening he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.