Ömer Çelik, the spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said on Tuesday that a comment made by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini on the occasion of the third anniversary of a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey raises doubts as it avoids explicitly condemning it, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“Questions persist about the fact that the EU has avoided explicitly condemning the coup attempt. Dodging the issue in the face of a coup while they have been talking about high standards for democracy and the rule of law is a reprehensible stance,” he told journalists during a press briefing.
Çelik also reminded that the EU’s initial messaging during the night of the coup was along the same lines as what it sent out during the military takeover in Egypt back in 2013.
Çelik’s criticism was directed at Mogherini, who addressed the third anniversary of the attempted coup during an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
“I think that we all remember that day and that night very well,” she was quoted as saying. “Our solidarity with the Turkish people is not in question at all.”