President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in New York on Monday in an unplanned meeting ahead of the 72nd Session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA). The two officials discussed Turkey-NATO ties, Turkey’s S-400 air defense system deal with Russia as well as regional developments, in particular those in northern Iraq and Syria. Erdoğan and Stoltenberg also discussed the controversial independence referendum scheduled to be held by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sept. 25. Turkey, the U.S., Iran and the U.N. have all backed Baghdad in speaking out against the referendum planned for the Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq, saying the vote would distract from operations against Daesh and lead to greater instability in the region.
