The U.S. State Department said on Thursday recent assertions by senior Turkish officials that the United States was involved in the 2016 coup attempt were “wholly false”.
“Unfounded and irresponsible claims of U.S. responsibility for events in Turkey are inconsistent with Turkey’s status as a NATO ally and strategic partner of the United States,” the State Department said.
Earlier in the day Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told pro-government press it was “obvious” the U.S. was behind the failed military take-over.
The Turkish Interior Ministry also accused the U.S. of interference in Turkey’s affairs on after the State Department condemned the recent arrest of student protesters and “the anti-LGBTQI rhetoric surrounding the demonstrations”.
Students at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University have led protests against Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s appointment of a close ally to head the prestigious academic institution.
Soylu has repeatedly described the protestors as “LGBT deviants” and accused Western countries of seeking to promote LGBT values in Turkey.
Ahval