NATO readies new support for Turkey: Stoltenberg

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday the alliance was working on new support measures for Turkey, but insisted the commitment predated Ankara’s shooting down of a Russian jet on the Syrian border.

Speaking as foreign ministers from the 28 NATO nations gathered in Brussels, Stoltenberg also reiterated his call for Turkey and Russia to calm the crisis and to find ways to ensure there is no repeat.

“We will work on further measures to assure Turkey’s security,” Stoltenberg said at the start of the two-day meeting dominated by Syria, Ukraine and relations with a “more assertive” Russia, as well as future plans in Afghanistan. “I would like to underline... that this is something not related to the incident last week. It has been going on for several years as part of our commitment to an ally,” he said NATO headquarters in Brussels. The NATO chief did not specify what the new measures would involve but said that the alliance has for many years helped Turkey with its air defences. Russia said this week that it had deployed its advanced S-400 air defence system at its base in Latakia, Syria, following the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish aircraft in November. In 2012 as the bloody conflict in Syria deepened, NATO allies deployed Patriot anti-missile batteries along Turkey’s border.