Epress.am News from Armenia
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told US President Barack Obama that his government “acted as Israel’s lawyer,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said yesterday.
Davutoğlu addressed deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the party’s gathering in the hot springs retreat of Kızılcahamam near the capital Ankara, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The Turkish foreign minister said Obama had phoned Erdoğan 11 times during the last nine months and a brief encounter took place during one of their conversations, when Obama complained about Turkey’s role in Iran’s uranium swap deal, asking why Erdoğan protected Iran.
Erdoğan denied Obama’s claims, Davutoğlu said, and responded, “I do not protect Iran, but you [the United States] act as Israel’s lawyer.”
Davutoğlu also talked about Turkey’s stance over the unrest in Syria.
“We were going to side either with Bashar al-Assad or the Syrian people. We chose the Syrian people,” Davutoğlu said.