NATO drill incident cannot be evaded with apology: CHP head

ANKARA

The incident during the NATO drill in Norway cannot be just evaded with an apology, Turkish main opposition party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on Nov. 18. 

Speaking at an event in Ankara on Nov. 18, Republican People's Party (CHP) Kılıçdaroğlu said they cannot accept the “insult” towards Turkey's history and today's Turkey.

He said they expect a satisfactory statement from the NATO officials regarding the incident.

"It is not a topic that can be avoided with an ordinary 'we apologize' thing," Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding "Nobody can insult Turkey's (current) executives and history. We strongly condemn this.”

The image of Atatürk was displayed as a target during the drill at NATO’s Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway held between Nov. 8 and Nov. 17, while a NATO soldier posted defamatory words about Erdoğan on the social media. NATO announced on Nov. 17 that one technician and a military officer had been sacked.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen have apologized to Turkey over the incident.