The U.S. Embassy in Ankara denied on Monday claims by the Washington Post on Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks, saying Turkey’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership would be in jeopardy as a result of the detentions on pro-coup suspects following the July 15 failed coup attempt.
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Strategists and economists said on Sunday the fact that the coup, launched while USA markets were still trading on Friday, had been put down would limit its impact on developed markets.
Turkish officials are still hunting for the helicopter-borne troops who swooped on the hotel on Friday night shortly after Erdogan had left after being tipped off about the attempted coup.
The European Union’s 28 member also called on Turkish authorities, including police and security forces, to exercise restraint in the wake of the failed coup.
He also said the Turkish people “took to the streets and supported the interests of the state”.
Mogherini said as European Union foreign ministers met that the “rule of law has to be protected in the country, there is no excuse for any steps that take the country away from that”, adding that it was “for the sake of the country”.
“The institution of the death penalty can only mean that such a country could not be a member”, Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in Berlin.
In the meantime, Akin Ozturk, who is an alleged leader of the military coup attempt in Turkey and the former commander of the country’s air force, was also detained and brought to Counter Terrorism Unit in Ankara for questioning, but he denied all charges against him.
He said a total of 7,543 had been detained since Friday, including 6,030 military personnel.
Kerry said he “firmly urge [d] the government of Turkey to maintain calm and stability throughout the country” and to “uphold the highest standard of respect for the nation’s democratic institutions and the rule of law”.
Meanwhile, w arplanes are continuing to patrol Turkey’s skies, in a sign that authorities fear the threat against the government is not yet over. In early Asian trade on Monday, the lira rose by as much as 2.2 percent against the dollar at one point and last traded at 2.9700, up roughly 1.7 percent on the day.
According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, among those being questioned by prosecutors are 27 generals and admirals. He had indicated a shake-up of the military was imminent and had also taken steps to increase his influence over the judiciary. So far, officials have not offered evidence he was involved.
Kerry said the United States would entertain an extradition request for Gulen, but Turkey would have to present “legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny”.
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Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday that “complete control around the country has been achieved” by the government, and cast the call to occupy city squares as the “people’s watch for democracy”.
