Turkey boycotts NATO ceremony over invitation to Greek Cypriot representative
Turkish authorities also informed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the situation, the source added.
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US Defence Secretary James Mattis (C) walks with US Army personnel across a NATO logo as he arrives at Resolute Support headquarters in the Afghan capital Kabul on April 24, 2017.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit April 24, an American defence official confirmed, hours after his Afghan counterpart resigned over a deadly Taliban attack. Mattis, making his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, was due to meet top officials including President Ashraf Ghani less than two weeks after the US dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on Islamic State hideouts in the country's east. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / JONATHAN ERNST
Turkey boycotted a NATO change of command ceremony on Friday to protest the participation of a Greek Cypriot representative, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported, citing Turkish diplomatic sources.
Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters was sworn in as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, replacing Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, at the ceremony held in Mons, Belgium.
On Thursday Turkey informed NATO it would not attend the ceremony if an invitation to the Greek Cyprus administration, which is not a NATO member, was not withdrawn, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Turkish authorities also informed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the situation, the source added.