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Erdogan: US’ ‘political coup attempt’ against Turkey

January 10, 2018 at 12:30 pm

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets the audience during a conference on women’s issues at ATO Congresium in Ankara, Turkey on 5 December 2017 [Binnur Ege Gürün/Anadolu Agency]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the case against a Turkish banker in the United States as a “political coup attempt” and a joint effort between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to strike Ankara.

Last week, a US jury convicted Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank, guilty of evading US sanctions against Iran. The case has strained ties between the two NATO partners.

Speaking to members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan said that the CIA, FBI and the followers of the US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen are exploiting the case to undermine Ankara.

Ankara accuses Gulen of masterminding the coup attempt that took place in Turkey in 2016.

Read: ‘World is doomed’: Erdogan denounces US justice after Turkish banker trial