Stoltenberg: Turkey remains a NATO ally

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that "the purge in which thousands of Turkish soldiers have been suspended or arrested after the failed coup attempt has not weakened the Turkish army," reports the Patria agency.

- Turkey has a large army, professional armed forces, and I am sure it will continue to be a strong ally in NATO, he told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of defense ministers from more than 30 countries involved in the coalition against the armed group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Approximately 60,000 soldiers, police officers, judges, civil servants, and teachers have been suspended or arrested following the coup attempt, increasing tensions in the country of 80 million people bordering Syria, which is a Western ally against ISIL, Reuters reminds.

Almost a third of the approximately 360 generals in the Turkish army were arrested after the failed coup on July 15.

Meanwhile, the Dutch, German, and Canadian foreign ministers expressed concern about the scale of the purges by Turkish authorities and called on Turkey to respect the rule of law.

- It is important for all of us that Turkey continues to be a strong ally in NATO, as Turkey is on the border of all the instability, all the violence we have seen in Iraq and Syria - Stoltenberg said.