Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has claimed US President Donald Trump called him to apologise for the indictment of 15 Turkish security officials in Washington earlier this year. In an interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS, Erdogan said Trump had called him a week ago to apologise and ensured to follow up on the incident.
“President Trump called me about a week ago about this issue. He said that he was sorry and he told me that he was going to follow up on this issue when we come to the United States within the framework of an official visit,” he said.
The Turkish leader’s statement, however, was denied by a White House official who told the Guardian that the two leaders “discussed a wide range of issues but there was no apology.”
Earlier this month, a US grand jury indicted 19 people, including 15 Turkish security officials over a brawl described by Washington’s police chief as a brutal attack on peaceful demonstrations outside the Turkish ambassador’s resident in Washington in May. At least 11 people were hurt in the incident which Ankara blamed on groups linked to Kurdish militants fighting an armed campaign in southeastern Turkey.
