Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that European and American countries are trying to influence the election of the head of state. He noted that the Western media write a lot about how important this election is for world politics.
“All the world powers from Europe to America are making active efforts to influence the May 14 election. And there is a despicable campaign against me for this purpose,” Erdoğan said during a meeting with young people in the city of Aydın (quoted by Anadolu). As an example, he cited actions with the burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen.
The Turkish president promised to work out a response to the closure of the consulates of several countries in Istanbul under the pretext of terrorist threats. He said that the ambassadors of these countries were given an ultimatum and were promised that the cost of such actions “would be high.
Ankara’s relations with its NATO partners worsened amid its refusal to ratify the agreement on Sweden’s membership in the alliance. Turkey had previously set a number of conditions for this, including the extradition of members of organizations considered terrorist in Ankara. Discussions on the issue were suspended after a Quran-burning action in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
