Turkish foreign minister, NATO chief meet in Ankara

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu and Ali Murat Alhas</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday met in capital Ankara and discussed NATO-EU relations and Turkey's purchase of S-400 air defense system.</p> <p>Cavusoglu and Stoltenberg gathered at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara on the occasion of NATO's 25th Mediterranean Dialogue meeting.</p> <p>In a Twitter post, Cavusoglu said: &quot;[We] made evaluations on a wide range of issues including NATO-EU relations and Turkey's S-400 purchase. Discussed the preparations of the NATO Heads of State and Government meeting to be held in London.&quot;</p> <p>Speaking at the forum, Stoltenberg said NATO was determined to improve security in the Middle East and North Africa.</p> <p>Stressing that the world was becoming more complicated and interconnected, he said taking precautions against terror was better than interventions.</p> <p>Stoltenberg also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit. &quot;Pleased to be back in Ankara to meet with [President] Erdogan,&quot; the NATO chief wrote on Twitter ahead of his meeting with the Turkish president.</p> <p>&quot;Turkey is a highly valued ally and NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey as it faces serious security challenges,&quot; Stoltenberg went on to say.</p> <p>NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue was initiated in 1994 by the North Atlantic Council. It currently involves seven non-NATO countries of the Mediterranean region: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia.