Erdogan says Turkey is not anybody's scapegoat

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized U.S. envoy to Turkey Francis Ricciardone's remarks on long detention periods in Turkey during a speech at the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Istanbul advisory council on Feb 9, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

"No one should be mistaken about our patience, tolerance and friendliness. Turkey is not anybody's scapegoat. Turkey is not a country with which to meddle in its internal issues or its executive, legislative and judiciary systems. And certainly not a country whose foreign policy guidelines can be dictated [by others]," Erdoğan said.

Ricciardone had criticized the fact that military leaders in Turkey were behind bars "as if they were terrorists" during a meeting with Ankara media bureau chiefs on Feb 5, provoking heated reactions from many officials from the government and AKP cadres.

"When a legal system produces such results and confuses people like that for terrorists, it makes it hard for American and European courts to match up. We are working to reconcile our legal processes in both countries," he said.

During his speech, Erdoğan also accused European Union members of “protecting terror suspects linked to groups operating in Turkey”, saying that Turkey's patience “was running out.”