'NATO stronger, more meaningful with Turkey'

Turkey's national defense minister said Monday that NATO is stronger and more meaningful with Turkey.

"NATO is stronger, more meaningful with Turkey, questioning Turkey is meaningless," Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency's Editor's Desk in the capital Ankara.

Akar added that when Turkey asserted its interests and rights in a NATO venue, this should not be perceived as a stance against the alliance.

"Our southern borders are also NATO's southern borders. Therefore, our protection of our southern borders is also for the security of NATO and Europe," he added.

Stressing that the YPG terror group in northern Syria is the same as the terrorist PKK, Akar said: "The YPG are terrorists. The entire world will know this as such."