EU expresses solidarity with Turkey over defeated coup

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – The EU on Monday expressed solidarity with the Turkish people as the nation marked third anniversary of the failed coup attempt.

“Our solidarity with the Turkish people is not into question at all,” the EU’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini said in Brussels.

Fetullah Terroist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Addressing a meeting of foreign minister’s council, Mogherini said the EU members do remember the day and night of July 15 very well.

“Today is the third anniversary of the attempted coup and I think that we all remember that day and that night very well,” she added.

Mogherini said she also talked to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu “about Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

She said the member states will discuss the issue, as well as Iran nuclear deal, immigration, and situations in Africa and Libya.