WorldNATO must retain Turkey as a member despite soaring tensions over Ankara's campaign for a controversial referendum, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. Beyond Turkey's strategic importance, von der Leyen warned that rupturing ties could give the democratic Turkish opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the sense the West was leaving it in the lurch. “Turkey is not making it easy for us within NATO. But no one should believe that a Turkey outside NATO would listen better to us or would be easier to deal with than a Turkey in NATO,” she told AFP. Von der Leyen, who has served as Chancellor Angela Merkel's defence chief since 2013, said that NATO provided a platform for the West to “discuss -- sometimes heatedly -- our convictions about democracy and open society”.

Source: Sunday Times March 15, 2017 12:00 UTC