Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly accused on Tuesday the United States of being involved in the July 2016 failed coup in his country.
Speaking before members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, he said US CIA and FBI intelligence agencies were behind the coup that took place on July 15, 2016.
Turkey also blames US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of involvement in the coup, a charge he denies.
In addition, Erdogan condemned the US trial of Halkbank executive, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was convicted last week on a number of charges, including bank fraud and conspiracy to violate US sanctions law.
Erdogan said that Atilla was being persecuted by the FBI, CIA and Gulen’s group.
“The US efforts will not succeed and it will fail,” declared the Turkish leader.
The trial is another form of the coup, this time from a political context, he stressed.
“Some of our friends and strategic partners support terrorist groups with different weapons, so what else do we have to discuss with them?” asked Erdogan in reference to US arms supplies to the People’s Protection Units.
The Kurdish group operating in Syria has been labeled as terrorist by Ankara.
