LONDON (AA) - Turkey’s prime minister on Tuesday warned the EU against rash statements as the country undergoes a state of emergency following the July 15 coup attempt.
Binali Yildirim was speaking following comments by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in which he warned that the reintroduction of the death penalty by Turkey would end the country’s bid to join the EU. Turks have called for the penalty to be brought back following the failed coup.
“He should make more careful statements,” Yildirim said in an interview with British broadcaster Sky News in Ankara. “While Turkey is fighting with such a threat, the fact that they keep up their finger and threaten Turkey is not up to them.”
The prime minister, who took office in May, warned of further arrests as those behind the failed coup are hunted down.
“There are arrests and detentions and the process has not been completed yet,” he said. Around 13,000 military, police, judiciary and civil servants have been arrested since July 15 and tens of thousands more removed from their posts.
Yildirim blamed the coup on “terrorists in soldier uniforms within the Turkish military” and also addressed whether the U.S had prior knowledge of the coup attempt. He said it was not “a credible rumor”.