Corn, canapes and shouting matches: How Erdogan and Stoltenberg’s bromance saved Nato

A new book by former Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on his time heading the alliance sheds light on how the Norwegian politician handled multiple crises with Turkey, from the downing of a Russian jet in 2015 to Ankara’s incursions into Syria and Nato's enlargement.

The memoir, On My Watch: Leading NATO in a Time of War, covers Stoltenberg's tenure as chief of the alliance between 2014 and 2024, a decade that included Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a series of crises within Nato about its future.

Now Norway's finance minister, Stoltenberg was often at odds with Turkey. But throughout the book, he seeks to underline the country's importance to Nato, as if also trying to convince himself.

The former secretary-general’s first major test involving Turkey came in November 2015, when the Turkish military shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft for repeatedly violating Turkish airspace.

While Stoltenberg issued a statement supporting Turkey’s territorial integrity and saying that Nato stood with Ankara, he reveals that not all Nato countries agreed with him.

“But the truth is that there was deep disagreement within the alliance,” he writes.

“Turkey received support from the Eastern European countries in its demand that Nato should unconditionally support the Turkish actions, and they believed that the border violation should be followed up with the deployment of more air defenses, more aircraft and more batteries of Patriot missiles along the border with Syria.”

But the Norwegian notes that France and Italy were opposed to explicitly supporting Turkey. 

“The Germans were not against support, but at the same time wanted to be more nuanced. They argued that it was one thing to condemn the border violation, quite another to justify a shooting down because of a violation that lasted 17 seconds.”

In response, Russia deployed S-400 air defence systems to Syria and sent its flagship, Moskva, to the Syrian coast.

Stoltenberg writes: “That same afternoon, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called: ‘What’s going on? Has the world gone completely off its hinges?!’” 

Without realising it, Stoltenberg, in another anecdote, reveals policy differences among Nato allies on Ukraine, which later proved costly after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire who was Ukraine's president from 2014 to 2019, expressed dismay to Stoltenberg in an undated conversation that Nato wasn’t supporting Ukraine against Russia, while Turkey was directly selling weapons to Kyiv in 2019.

“Ukraine needed more weapons and equipment. They desperately needed drones, anti-tank weapons and modern air defence,” Stoltenberg writes.

“Poroshenko was grateful that Turkey had delivered the advanced Bayraktar drones, but dissatisfied that the United States and other Nato countries would not sell weapons to Ukraine.” 

Stoltenberg and Erdogan

Another major crisis between Nato and Turkey erupted in 2019 when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invaded northern Syria to create a buffer zone along the border and remove armed Syrian Kurdish groups, which Ankara sees as terrorists, from the region. 

Stoltenberg describes Erdogan as an “old acquaintance”, whom he had known for years.

“Erdogan is committed and knowledgeable and has a good overview of the details of the cases. He is easy to get in touch with. He often brings an iPad into meetings, and with it he shows figures, tables and video clips with which he wants to substantiate his views,” the Norwegian writes.

'Do you know the difference between the Taliban and the protocol department? It is possible to negotiate with the Taliban'

- Recep Tayyip Erdogan, quoted by Jens Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg says Erdogan became “a challenge” both for Nato and for him during his time as chief.

Turkey ranks low on the democracy index published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and fell even further after the coup attempt in 2016.

“During a visit to Ankara, I had been struck by how the new presidential palace exuded power," Stoltenberg writes.

"You drove through some high gates and entered a large park, with a mosque and several other buildings in addition to the palace itself. My delegation and I were followed through some enormous halls and up some stairs, through new rooms and into a new hall where we waited for a while.” 

During another meeting in Istanbul, Stoltenberg expressed “deep concern” about Turkish incursions into northern Syria, and Erdogan didn’t mince his words, saying that Turkey wasn’t against the Kurds because tens of thousands of Syrian Kurdish refugees as well as millions of Kurds lived in the country.

“The YPG are terrorists. You’ve said that before. So why don’t you say that anymore? You need them to fight ISIS, yes. But they don’t become less terrorist for that,” Erdogan tells Stoltenberg, referring to the West's relationship to the Kurdish armed group.

The Turkish president tells Nato's secretary-general: “You must not think that it is possible to use one terrorist organisation to fight another. You saw what happened in Afghanistan in the fight against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. You supported the Mujahedin and ended up with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

'Lovely roasted chestnuts'

But Erdogan was also full of surprises in meetings. He suddenly asked whether Stoltenberg liked corn, since it was corn season. The Norwegian said he did.

“A moment later, they brought in a huge platter of golden corncobs, which we grabbed with our bare hands. There were maybe eight to ten of us in the room, and everyone was munching away. Lovely roasted chestnuts also came,” Stoltenberg writes.

“'The protocol department hates this,' Erdogan said, grabbing another flask. 'Do you know the difference between the Taliban and the protocol department?' he asked, looking at me expectantly, as corn kernels and salt sprinkled onto the floor.

I shook my head. Erdogan smiled. 'It is possible to negotiate with the Taliban.'”

During the conversation, Stoltenberg writes that Erdogan said Turkey had every right under international law to be in Syria, at least as much as the US, UK and other Nato countries that had deployed troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.

Stoltenberg warned Erdogan not to hit civilians. Erdogan replied: “We kill terrorists. You are the ones hitting civilians when you bomb ISIS in Raqqa and Mosul. No one objects to that.” The Norwegian confesses that "again, Erdogan had a point".

Trump, Macron and Erdogan

US President Donald Trump’s decision in 2019 to withdraw American troops in the face of the Turkish invasion in Syria angered Europeans, especially the French.

“The reactions in Europe created irritation on the other side of the Atlantic,” Stoltenberg writes. Or as one American aide tells him: "Europe will defend the Kurds to the last American."

'It was demanding to have two presidents of major Nato countries [Erdogan and Macron] who had become each other’s ideal enemies'

- Jens Stoltenberg

During the crisis, Erdogan repeatedly told Stoltenberg that Nato had failed and that he would "flood Europe with migrants" if Turkey's problems and demands were not understood.

The crisis eventually pushed French President Emmanuel Macron to make his famous statement about the alliance. He told The Economist that “Nato was brain dead.”

The comment angered Trump, who told Stoltenberg that it was “a disrespectful and insulting statement. You can’t go around talking about Nato like that.” Trump added that the alliance now really only had one problem, and that was France.

Naturally, Macron felt differently. After dragging out talks on the Nato 2030 proposal, Macron told Stoltenberg that it was Turkey he was concerned about.

“The relationship between Presidents Erdogan and Macron was difficult," Stoltenberg writes. "In Turkey, religion had become an increasingly important political factor. By criticizing Erdogan, Macron could profile himself as a warm defender of the modern, secular state.

“Erdogan, in turn, could use confrontations with Macron to present himself as the leader of the Islamic world, someone who stood up to criticism and insults of Islam. It was demanding to have two presidents of major Nato countries who had become each other’s ideal enemies,” the Norwegian writes.

But Erdogan's friendship with Trump also helped him to go through some of the roadblocks. In July 2018, Trump put pressure on allies to increase their defence spending.

Stoltenberg quotes Trump: "Slovenia, less than one percent. I’m not surprised. I know my wife, I know what she spends her money on... The great thing about Turkey is that he, Erdogan, can say whatever he wants, there’s no-one controlling him. When he got 61 percent in the election, I said, ‘Why don’t you just say it was 80 percent? That sounds better.’”

Trump then claps hands with Erdogan, who was sitting on the other side of him. 

Turkey against Sweden and Finland membership

The final challenge Stoltenberg faced with Turkey and Erdogan came in May 2022, when Erdogan decided to block Sweden and Finland’s applications for Nato membership.

Erdogan’s move was particularly puzzling because Finnish President Sauli Niinisto had received assurances from Erdogan that Turkey would consider the applications favourably, according to Stoltenberg.

“I raised the matter with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and he made it clear that Turkey would not oppose Nato enlargement. Several rounds of the Council with the Turkish ambassador present confirmed the same. We thought everything was in place,” the Norwegian says.

“Do you want anything? Coffee? Cakes? Sandwiches?' I asked. "'I’m not that cheap,' Erdogan replied, smiling crookedly.

Then Erdogan suddenly said Turkey wasn’t prepared to support the applications unless Sweden and Finland took steps to address Turkey’s security concerns regarding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian wing.

The conversations between Erdogan and Stoltenberg, and between Cavusoglu and his Swedish and Finnish counterparts, went on for weeks.

In June 2022, Stoltenberg and others proposed a package where Sweden and Finland would condemn the PKK. But Erdogan did not budge. He insisted that the PKK’s Syrian arm, the YPG, be mentioned in the text, as well as FETO - the Gulen movement Turkey believed was behind the 2016 coup attempt.

Stoltenberg writes that he was left alone with Erdogan during a round of meetings to resolve this issue.

“I was concerned with one thing: that he should not disappear, not leave the meeting because he had become bored or hungry or tired,” he writes. “'Do you want anything? Coffee? Cakes? Sandwiches?' I asked.

"'I’m not that cheap,' Erdogan replied, smiling crookedly. We were given some sad canapes, but Erdogan devoured them with a good appetite while he and I continued our conversation in private.”

Turkey blocking Israel-Nato military drills until permanent Gaza truce

Read More »

Erdogan and Stoltenberg continued their private meeting for an hour while Nato staffers and Turkish officials worked on how to include the YPG in the text.

Erdogan reminded Stoltenberg that he had promised to come to Istanbul with his wife. Stoltenberg responded positively, meeting Erdogan on the same wavelength. “I know him, he wants Turkey to be appreciated,” he writes.

An adjusted text is proposed, with further mention of the YPG and a stipulation that Finland and Sweden "will provide their full support to Turkey against threats to its national security", including not supporting the YPG or the Gulen movement.

Stoltenberg thinks they are on target, but Cavusoglu demands the inclusion of a passage discussed earlier in the meeting, stating that Sweden and Finland should take more concrete steps before Turkey ratified the agreement.

“I felt impatience coming on. ‘Mevlut, you have to shut up!’ I said and gave him a hard look. There was silence. You can only talk like that to friends, I thought,” Stoltenberg writes.

The Norwegian reads the finished text "slowly, three times" to Erdogan, Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

“Then I walked around the table. Niinisto said yes. Andersson said yes. Erdogan looked at me first, then at Niinisto and Andersson before looking back at me. ‘Okay,’ he said. The whole room erupted in applause.”