ANKARA (Realist English). Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu called on the US ambassador in Ankara to “get dirty hands” off the country, accusing him of trying to “stir Turkey up”, the Haberturk newspaper reports.
Soylu also accused the United States of running Europe. According to the minister, who is also the curator of the “Gray Wolves” terrorist group, ” Every US ambassador asks themselves how they can harm Turkey”. Moreover, Soylu believes that under the influence of Washington, European ambassadors are doing the same in Europe.
The Turkish minister’s statement was made against the backdrop of the demarche of the Americans and their European allies: Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Switzerland and Sweden suspended the activities of their Consulates General in Istanbul due to security threats.
In response, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has attacked his NATO colleagues with reproaches: “If they were allies, they would have warned us about the upcoming threats. If there is a terrorist threat, shouldn’t they inform us? We asked our Ministry of Internal Affairs and intelligence. There was no specific exchange of information. We believe these closures are deliberate.”
On February 2, a group of senators from both American parties signed a letter to President Joseph Biden, in which they asked him to postpone the sale of F-16 aircraft to Turkey due to the fact that Ankara has not yet ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Alliance.
“The Congress cannot consider the possibility of further support for Turkey, including the sale of F-16 aircraft, until Turkey completes the ratification of the accession protocols,” reads the letter, which was published by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen together with Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
Shaheen and Tillis are co—chairs of the US Senate NATO Observer Group. The letter was also signed by another 25 senators from both parties.
