EU and NATO officials flow to Turkey after coup attempt

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

European Union and NATO officials will flow to Turkey in September in a show of support to Ankara over the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.

European Union President Martin Schulz will travel to Turkey on Sept. 1, while EU High Representative Federica Mogherini is also expected to pay a visit next week.

The visits will come in the wake of complaints by Turkish leaders that the EU did not lend sufficient support to Ankara over the initiated coup, saying no European leader or senior European Union official rushed to Turkey after the failed attempt to show solidarity.  

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan several times spoke against the EU expressing criticism of the massive purge against suspected members and sympathizers of Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim cleric residing in the U.S., in the aftermath of the attempted coup.

“There is not one person from the EU or the Council of Europe who came here to offer condolences. But they feel no shame or discomfort in telling us these humiliating things,” he said on July 29. “I say to them: Keep that wisdom to yourself,” he added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is also scheduled to visit Turkey on Sept. 8.

The NATO secretary general spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the night of the attempted coup and later with Erdoğan, strongly condemning the attempted coup and reiterating full support for Turkey’s democratic institutions, a NATO spokesperson said on Aug. 10, adding that Stoltenberg also expressed support for the elected government of Turkey and respect for the courage of the Turkish people.