The US Department of State has rejected high-ranking Turkish officials' accusations of Washington's involvement in the coup attempt in 2016 and believes that such statements contradict the allied relations between the two countries.
"The United States had no involvement in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey and promptly condemned it. Recent assertions to the contrary made by senior Turkish officials are wholly false," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release on Thursday.
Earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Thursday accused the United States of being the mastermind behind the 2016 failed military coup in Turkey. It was not the first time the minister spoke on US alleged role in the coup attempt, as just days after the events he talked about it on Turkish TV.
Price said claims of the United States' responsibility for events in Turkey are inconsistent with Turkey's status as a NATO ally and US strategic partner.
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Turkey scolded as ‘irresponsible NATO ally’ after interior minister blames US for 2016 coup attempt — RT
ReplyDeleteTurkey’s interior minister has accused the United States of orchestrating a coup attempt that rocked the country in 2016, prompting a denial from Washington, which blasted the claim as unbefitting of a NATO partner.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu alleged the US government played an unspecified role in the July 15, 2016 coup d'etat attempt, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported, suggesting on a local television program that American officials “managed” the ill-fated takeover.
“Was it only FETO behind the July 15 coup? Did it just do it alone? No,” Soylu said on Thursday, referring to the movement led by US-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, labeled the “Fethullah Terrorist Organization” (FETO) by authorities in Ankara.
It is obvious that America is behind July 15. It was FETO who carried this out with their instructions.
The US State Department hit back at the charge later on Thursday, issuing a curt statement emphatically denying any connection to the revolt.
“The United States had no involvement in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey and promptly condemned it. Recent assertions to the contrary made by senior Turkish officials are wholly false,” read the statement, attributed to spokesman Ned Price.
These remarks and other unfounded and irresponsible claims of US responsibility for events in Turkey are inconsistent with Turkey’s status as a NATO Ally and strategic partner of the United States.