German Chancellor Angela Merkel said reinstating it would “in no way” be compatible with Turkey’s goal of European Union membership.
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European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says rule of law must prevail in Turkey at a time the government is rounding up suspects.
European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Erdogan would move Turkey away from the core values represented by the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defense alliance if he used the coup to further restrict democratic rights.
“The secretary was surprised by the activities on Friday, as others in the USA government were”, he said.
Kerry told CNN on Sunday that the U.S.is waiting for a formal extradition request to the State and Justice departments.
“In a country where our youths are killed with tanks and bombs, if we stay silent, as political people we will be held responsible in the afterlife”, Erdogan said, pointing out that capital punishment exists in several countries around the world, including the United States and China.
208 people, consisting of mostly civilians, have been killed by pro-coup soldiers, while over 1,400 people were injured. Annual leave was suspended for more than 3 million civil servants, while close to 3,000 judges and prosecutors have been suspended.
The crackdown comes less than a day after Erdogan said government forces have quelled a coup attempt and that the orchestrators will “pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey”.
“NATO also has a requirement with respect to democracy”, Kerry said. The government has blamed the failed coup – which led to at least 294 deaths and wounded 1,400 others – on supporters of a US -based Muslim cleric who has become President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief opponent.
While they were in the air, the air traffic control tower at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport was under the control of soldiers attempting the coup, he said. Akin Ozturk, alleged to be the ringleader of the July 15 uprising, and Gen. Adem Hududi, commander of Turkey’s 2nd Army, which is in charge of countering possible threats to Turkey from Syria, Iran and Iraq.
Ozturk, who remained in active duty, has denied he was involved and insisted he worked to quell the uprising in statements he made to Turkish media. They are due in court Monday.
“NATO will indeed measure very carefully what is happening” in Turkey, Kerry said.
The eight landed in Alexandroupolis Saturday after issuing a distress call and requesting permission for an emergency landing.
“I would call out and say if you are a nationalist by virtue of your values, please don’t attempt such a thing”, Gulen said. In a note, Piotr Matys, an emerging markets and foreign exchange strategist at Rabobank, said “The worst case scenario has been avoided as a successful coup would have triggered a full-scale sell-off”.
Quoting unnamed sources, the Dubai-based broadcaster said Monday that the attache, Mikail Ihsanoglu, was on his way to Düsseldorf, Germany via Amsterdam when he was detained.
The Turkish government is hitting back by detaining thousands of suspects from the military, the police and the judiciary, heightening a tense atmosphere in Istanbul and Ankara in particular, the two cities which bore the brunt of the coup attempt.
Among those arrested was General Bekir Ercan Van, commander of the Incirlik air base from which US aircraft launch air strikes on Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, an official said.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry followed her warning, saying North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will be scrutinizing Turkey in coming days to ensure that it fulfills the alliance’s requirement that members adhere to democratic governance.
Erdogan and the government have said that Gulen’s followers in the military were responsible for the attempted take-over on Friday night and early Saturday morning.
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Some 6,000 members of the judiciary and military, including generals, have been detained in connection with the coup. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.
