The seemingly heated exchange between a high-ranking USA general and the president of Turkey is the latest example of what appears to be a growing distrust of the United States in Turkey following the July 15 coup attempt.
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“We, as many others, have concerns and will be watching this very carefully”, Jagland told The Associated Press in an interview following talks with Turkish leaders.
He repeated a complaint that no foreign leader had visited Turkey since the failed coup on 15 July, which left more than 270 people dead.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has strongly accused the West of supporting terrorism and coup plotters, expressing his resentment at the unsatisfying support from Turkey’s allies in the aftermath of the failed July 15 coup attempt. Economists have said the government’s crackdown on businesses accused of supporting the coup plotters could be enough to cause an increased slowdown of economic output in Turkey. The cleric denies the charge and has denounced the coup.
Ankara also accused the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen of being behind the plot and had stepped up pressure on the United States authorities to extradite him back to Turkey. And some Turkish media outlets have fed the outrage with reports that blame US generals and other Americans for orchestrating the coup, including Votel and Gen. John Campbell, who recently led USA forces in Afghanistan. “This should be clearly recognized”.
“Had the coup taken place in another country, markets would not have opened earlier than in a week”.
The government has launched a sweeping crackdown on Gulen’s movement, which it characterizes as a terrorist organization.
“Many of them may have been dragged into something which they did not know about”, Jagland said.
“There are still some people who are unaware of what is going on in the world and saying ‘We don’t know if the person in America [Fetullah Gulen] is behind this [coup] attempt. Nobody had any imagination that they could start a military coup, killing people and shelling parliament”.
He said he had received assurances from Turkey’s interior minister that the country has “zero tolerance for torture and mistreatment” and that all incidents would be investigated.
“We should not forget that they will be able to return to their duties if allegations about them proved baseless after necessary interrogations and investigations are over”, he noted.
The minister said that if Gulen leaves the USA, it would be with the full knowledge of US authorities.
Turkey had initially sent four dossiers to Washington on July 19 demanding Gulen’s extradition.
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The issue has soured the two countries’ relations.
