NATO Secretary General discusses current security challenges with President Erdogan

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had a phone call with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the President’s request, on Thursday (14 May 2020). They discussed NATO’s ongoing efforts to support Allies in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary General commended Turkey for its support with medical equipment to other Allies and partners, in response to requests made through NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre.

Mr Stoltenberg stressed that at this challenging time, it remains more important than ever to demonstrate Allied solidarity, and that NATO will continue to take all measures to ensure the collective defence of all Allies.

They also discussed the situation in Libya. Secretary General Stoltenberg stressed that NATO’s position remains consistent. As stated by NATO Heads of State and Government at the 2018 Brussels Summit,  NATO is prepared to help Libya in the area of defence and security institution building, in response to the request by the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord to assist the GNA to strengthen its security institutions.  Any NATO assistance to Libya would take account of political and security conditions, and  would be provided in full complementarity and in close coordination with other international efforts, including those of the UN and the EU. The Secretary General also recalled that all parties should respect the UN arms embargo, as reaffirmed at the Berlin International Conference on Libya in January this year, and that NATO fully supports UN efforts to find a political solution.