Austria is capital of radical racism, Turkish FM says

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has condemned Austria as the "capital of radical racism" after Chancellor Christian Kern urged the European Union to halt membership talks with Turkey following Ankara's crackdown in the wake of the failed July 15 coup attempt.

“The Austrian chancellor should first take a look at his own country. One of the trends that is an enemy of human rights and values is racism and today Austria is the capital of radical racism,” he said in an interview with TGRT Haber television news network on Friday.

He also dismissed Kern's comments as “ugly.”

On Wednesday, the Austrian chancellor slammed the Ankara government for the widespread purges of state institutions and a sweeping crackdown that have followed the botched putsch, stating that Turkey cannot be part of the EU over what he termed as democratic and economic shortfalls.

Cavusoglu further argued on Friday that Brussels is not fulfilling its commitments under the March 18 refugee deal, which obliges Ankara to take back Syrian refugees landing on Greek islands, in exchange for visa-free travel for Turkish nationals, billions of euros in aid, and accelerated EU accession talks. The accord went into effect two days later.

Responding to the Turkish foreign minister's criticism, his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz urged Ankara to exercise self-restraint and moderate its words and actions.

“I sharply reject the criticism of Austria by Turkey’s foreign minister. Ankara is called upon to moderate its choice of words and its course of action, as well as to do its homework,” a spokesman quoted Kurz as saying.

Gulen urges West to unseat Erdogan

Separately, US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the failed coup attempt, has called for foreign intervention in Turkey.

Speaking in an interview with Egypt-based al-Ghad television network, Gulen said Turkey has been “dragged into a civil war,” calling on the West to immediately overthrow the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Gulen has condemned the coup attempt and denied any involvement in the violence. He has instead stated that the botched putsch may have been staged by Erdogan himself as an excuse to crack down on dissent and expand his presidential powers.

Former Istanbul governor arrested over failed coup

Furthermore, Turkish authorities arrested the former Istanbul governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, on charges of affiliation to the Gulen movement and involvement in the coup attempt.

A court in Istanbul passed the verdict on Mutlu and 11 other suspects - seven governors, a deputy governor and three district governors - on Friday.

Mutlu, rejected the charges, saying, “I refuse to be tried alongside coup-plotters.” 

He was among 246 governors and district governors who were suspended from duty by the Interior Ministry following the coup attempt.

Mutlu served as the Istanbul governor between 2010 and 2014, after which he took a post with the Interior Ministry as a civil servant.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk