Erdogan condemns 'impudence' during NATO drill

By Kemal Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday criticized the incident that led to the withdrawal of Turkish troops from NATO drill in Norway.

Turkey withdrew from the Trident Javelin exercise after a civilian Norwegian official depicted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an "enemy collaborator" during a bloc exercise in Norway.

A portrait of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was also shown in the ‘hostile leader list’ during the computer-assisted exercise.

Speaking at an event in northeastern Rize on Saturday, the president said as Turkey is increasing its power, the intensity of the attacks against the country is also increasing.

"Yesterday, you have witnessed the impudence at NATO exercise in Norway. There are some mistakes that cannot be committed by fools but only by vile people,” he said.

"I understand this impudence that targets me and founder of our republic Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as a reflection of a distorted point of view that we observe in NATO for a while," the president added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen have apologized to Turkey over the incident.