Successful strikes against terrorists in the country will lead to the failure of policies pursued by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he added.
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“YPG is a gang of terrorists”.
Erdogan is facing increasing criticism for his crackdown on free speech at home.
Gail Chalef, director of communications at Brookings, said her staff and security personnel worked hard to provide an open and safe venue for Erdogan’s speech. A small group of protesters amassed outside Brookings, with one holding a large sign that said “Erdogan: War Criminal On The Loose” while another used a megaphone to chant that he was a “baby-killer”.
Just ahead of Erdogan’s arrival at the Brookings Institute, Turkish security officials clashed with the crowd – both sides exchanging insults and scuffling – before Washington DC local police were able to separate them. A Secret Service agent standing nearby was overheard saying “the situation is a bit out of control”.
Gilles Paris, the Washington correspondent for Le Monde, also captured the Turkish security guards grappling with protesters.
According to Assad, his Turkish counterpart “trades oil that has been stolen by IS (Islamic State, Daesh), at the same time carrying out artillery attacks against the Syrian army – when it moves close – in order to help the terrorists”.
Holding banners calling out Turkey’s ongoing Armenian genocide denial, crackdown on the country’s Kurdish community, and support for ISIS forces in Syria – protesters spotlighted Turkey’s democratic decline under President Erdogan’s rule, a view gaining increased support in Washington’s political circles in the days leading up to his US visit.
They discussed US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism and migration, it said.
He named the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Islamic State, al-Qaeda and al-Shabaad as terrorist organizations feeding the anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News reported Friday that a group of 473 lawyers filed requests to join the case as Dundar and Gul’s attorneys, and were granted permission to attend the hearing. When the White House declined, the Turks sought a formal bilateral meeting, but the White House has refused to commit to that, either. Their newspaper published a story in May 2015 that alleged Turkey was shipping arms to Islamists in Syria.
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan’s trip to the United States capital had been glaring.
They discussed “US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism, and migration”, it said. Dozens of journalists and critics of the Turkish president have been arrest under various charges.
“President Erdogan’s expressed commitment to “fight” anti-Semitism is particularly welcome in light of past statements by him and other AKP leaders”, said Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy and Director of Government and International Affairs, in an email to JTA. He didn’t offer any evidence to support the allegation.
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“In terms of criticism, I have no problems with anybody whatsoever, but when it comes to insult and defamation, of course I have problems”, Erdogan said.
