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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the meeting of governors organized in Turkey’s capital Ankara.
Pointing to US Ambassador John Bass as the one who is responsible for the visa crisis that erupted between Turkey and the US, Erdoğan said, “It is unacceptable that the US sacrifices its strategic partner Turkey to an impertinent ambassador”.
US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert in her statement on Wednesday said, “Our ambassadors tend to not do things unilaterally. This was coordinated with the State Department, it was coordinated with the White House and coordinated with the NSC (National Security Council)”.
Addressing the US, Erdoğan said “We are not a tribal state. We don’t need you”.
“We stand behind our decision”
“Shame on the US if it is governed by the ambassador in Ankara.
“They should have told him ‘You cannot treat like this to my ally’, but they haven’t.
“This is the ambassador’s mistake. If the ambassador says I took this step on behalf of my government and Mr. president defends it, I’m sorry but we stand behind our decision”. (EKN/TK)
