Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rebuffed a NATO apology for what he called “impudence” during the alliance’s drills in Norway, where he was depicted on an “enemies chart.” The scandal led to the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the exercise, RT reports.
“There can be no alliance like that," Erdogan said on Friday, adding that even the removal of those names would not change the decision. On Saturday, despite the officials’ apologies and affirmations, the insulted leader remained steadfast, saying that NATO cannot easily get away with the incident.
"Yesterday, you have witnessed the impudence at NATO exercises in Norway. There are some mistakes that cannot be committed by fools but only by vile people,” Erdogan said in a televised speech. He added that the incident shows “a reflection of a distorted point of view that we have observed in NATO for a while."
"This matter cannot be covered over with a simple apology," Erdogan added.
