President Gül says Turkey saved NATO's prestige

Adressing the press conference after the NATO summit in Lisbon on Saturday,Turkish President, Abdullah Gul said Turkey displayed a principled stance which helped maintain not only NATO's prestige but also avoid wearing down of the Alliance, World Bulletin reports.

"Turkey reminded NATO of its status as a defense organization and prevented a misunderstanding," Gul said. "All these are the results of efforts by Turkey and close cooperation between Turkey and the United States," he said.

Turkey welcomed the new strategic concept adopted by NATO countries at Lisbon summit as Iran was not specifically mentioned as a threat in the NATO document that would shape the future of the Alliance for the next decade and maybe more.

Amid discussions on a planned NATO missile shield project, Turkey repeatedly said that NATO should not target any other country as a threat and this view was reflected in the document.

"The Alliance does not consider any country to be its adversary. However, no one should doubt NATO's resolve if the security of any of its members were to be threatened," the NATO document said.

As for Afghanistan and Russia, Gul said Turkey welcomed also outcomes of meetings with Afghan and Russian presidents.

On a question about his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Gul said the meeting focused on terrorism and NATO-EU relations.

Following the NATO summit in Lisbon, Gul returned to Turkey on Saturday night.