Mr. Pompeo: Europe and the US need to cooperate to face Turkey

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro said the US authorities and European countries need to cooperate to resolve Turkish-led military operations in the Middle East over the past few months.

The US Secretary of State said referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Europe and America must work together to convince Mr. Erdogan that such actions are not in the interests of his people. French President Emmanuel Macron and I agree that the Turkish government's actions are very aggressive

Pompeo revealed that the US administration is very concerned about Ankara strengthening its military presence, but he did not say whether Turkey should stay or leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Earlier, in late October, President Macron also criticized Turkey for having imperialist tendencies when increasing military operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mr Macron accused the Ankara administration of displaying warlike attitudes toward NATO allies and pursuing a extremely aggressive policy in the region.

The French President said, I see Turkey with regional imperialism and I think this trend is not a good thing for regional stability.

Turkey has been repeatedly criticized by its European allies for its dispute in the eastern Mediterranean with Greece despite the fact that the two countries are both NATO members and because of Russia's contract to purchase the S-400 missile system. Turkey recently increased its military support to Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia as well as its military operations in Libya and the Mediterranean region.