Why did NATO Secretary General call to apologize to Turkish President?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called Turkish President Tayip Erdogan to apologize again for the incident at the NATO Trident Javelin exercise (October 8-17) in Norway.

Image of Turkish President Tayip Erdogan being used as a target.

NTV channel quoted a source in Erdogan's office as reporting on November 18.

Earlier, Mr Erdogan said that the organizers of the exercise had placed portraits of "enemies" as targets, including those of Türkiye's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatyurk and the current Turkish leader.

According to Mr. Erdogan, the Turkish General Staff reported to him about what happened and said that he decided to withdraw 40 Turkish soldiers participating in the NATO exercise. The Turkish leader supported this decision.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg apologized to Türkiye for what happened during a training exercise in Norway, and Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen also expressed regret, but Erdogan said that was not enough.

According to the TV channel, during the phone call, Mr. Stoltenberg expressed hope that this incident would not affect Türkiye's relationship with NATO.

According to Sputnik