Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen on Friday apologized to Turkey over an insulting incident that took place during a NATO exercise in the Norwegian city of Stavanger.
Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his decision to withdraw 40 Turkish servicemen from the NATO drills in Norway, after his name, along with the name of Turkey’s first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, appeared on an “enemy chart” during the exercise. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has already offered his apologies to the Turkish president for the incident. He noted that the person who posted the material was a Norwegian civil contractor, and not a NATO employee.
“During a NATO exercise at the Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger an exercise message was published on the internal exercise network… The message does not reflect Norway’s views or policies and I apologize the content of the message. Turkey is an important ally in NATO, and we value our good cooperation,” Bakke-Jensen was quoted as saying in the Norwegian Defense Ministry’s press release.
The Norwegian defense minister added that Norway will conduct a thorough investigation into the accident.