On Friday, the Turkish leader slammed an “incident” during NATO drills in Norway, in which Erdogan himself and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern Turkish state, were depicted in an “enemy chart.”

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"They used an enemy chart in Norway. In that chart, there was my name and [Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk's picture," the Turkish leader told his Justice and Development (AK) Party members, as cited by Turkish media.

Erdogan said it was decided to withdraw all 40 Turkish soldiers from a NATO drill “immediately,” adding that even the removal of those names would not change the decision.

“There can be no alliance like that," Erdogan said.

Later in the day, Norwegian media reported that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had apologized for the “offence,” saying that “the incidents were the result of an individual’s actions and do not reflect the views of NATO.” The apology was contained in a letter from Stoltenberg, which was obtained by NTB agency. The Secretary General said that an investigation into the incident is ongoing, and added that the person responsible for the offence had been “removed from the exercise.”

“The individual in question was immediately removed from the exercise by the Joint Warfare Centre, and an investigation is underway. He was a civilian contractor seconded by Norway and not a NATO employee,” he said.

According to the NATO website, Norway is currently hosting a Trident Javelin 17 military exercise, as well as Polaris-17 and Gram-17 drills, aimed at improving Norway’s military ability “to execute high-intensity national and NATO operations within Norwegian territory.” It is not clear what maneuvers Erdogan was referencing.

Turkey is currently at loggerheads with some of its allies within the military alliance. Ankara’s decision to buy Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems triggered concerns among its NATO member states, including the US. Erdogan lashed out at his critics, saying that he is not going to wait for protection from NATO allies.