Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has demanded an apology from US Vice President Joe Biden after the latter made comments Erdogan said were untrue.
Speaking at Harvard University on Thursday, Biden told students Erdogan — whom he referred to as an “old friend” — admitted to him that his country had erred in allowing foreign terrorist fighters an easy route to pass in and out of Syria.
“President Erdogan told me — he’s an old friend — he said, ‘You’re right. We let too many people through.’ Now, they’re trying to seal their border,” Biden said.
Erdogan said he never made such an admission to Biden, and he said Biden would be “history for me” if he does not apologize.
“I have never said to him that we had made a mistake, never. If he did say this at Harvard then he has to apologize to us,” Erdogan said, according to The Associated Press.
“Foreign fighters have never entered Syria from our country. They may come to our country as tourists and cross into Syria, but no one can say that they cross in with their arms.”
Biden ultimately called Erdogan on Saturday to apologize and clarify his comments, the White House said.
“Vice President Joe Biden spoke today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to clarify recent comments made at Harvard University. The Vice President apologized for any implication that Turkey or other Allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria,” the White House said.
“The Vice President made clear that the United States greatly values the commitments and sacrifices made by our Allies and partners from around the world to combat the scourge of ISIL, including Turkey.”
But closing Turkey’s porous border has indeed been a major point of emphasis in the fight of the US and partners against the extremist group calling itself the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. It is routinely brought up as a point of concern throughout the Obama administration. Erdogan has taken steps to enhance security along the border in recent months.
source: businessinsider
Tags: Demands Biden Apology, ISIS, Politics, Turkey's President
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.