"Of course I admit that it’s necessary to act against those who staged this coup, and against a secret network of conspirators," Jagland said during a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu.
Jagland’s words come in stark contrast to statements issued by several EU leaders who condemned the coup attempt but expressed skepticism about the extent of Turkish government’s actions in the wake of the coup, Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang points out.
"Europe displayed a lack of understanding of the challenges that Turkey’s democratic institutes had to face. We, on the other hand, knew about it for a long time and therefore understand the necessity of restoring order after that coup attempt," the secretary general declared.
Jagland, who became the first high-ranking European official to arrive in Turkey since the coup attempt, argued that Europe remains unaware of many facts regarding that event. He said that the goal of his trip is to uncover these facts, and for that purpose he intends to meet with President Erdogan and high-ranking government officials and opposition representatives in order to hear all sides of that story.
