Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said people who go to study in Western countries assimilate into their culture and become voluntary agents of the West, the Sputnik news agency reported on Thursday.
Erdoğan’s remarks were made during a dinner hosted by the Türken Foundation in the US.
Arguing that Turkish students have been sent abroad in order to return and support the scientific development in their country since Ottoman times, Erdoğan said the expected outcome could not be achieved since most of those who were sent to Western countries lost their Turkish identity and became voluntary agents of the West.
“Those who look down on their people and hate their own values have inflicted more damage on us than on our enemies because instead of working for their own country’s interests, they have served the interests of foreign companies, states and institutions. … They can betray any value, any principle,” Erdoğan said.