ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday asked NATO members to demonstrate "concrete solidarity" with his country, the presidential communications directorate said.
During his meeting with visiting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Erdogan "stressed that NATO allies should demonstrate concrete solidarity with Turkey" as "NATO has a very important role and responsibility to prevent attempts that risk the functionality of the Alliance," said the directorate in a statement released after the meeting.
Turkey-NATO relations, the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, and regional developments particularly in Libya were on the agenda of the meeting between Erdogan and Stoltenberg, according to the statement.
The visit of Stoltenberg came after the tension between Turkey and Greece over hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean calmed down through the mediation of Germany and NATO's initiative aimed to establish a military de-confliction mechanism to reduce the risks in the region.
"My firm hope is that this (the military de-confliction mechanism) can create space for diplomatic efforts," Stoltenberg tweeted after the meeting.
