(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Erdogan denied ever saying that and told reporters in Istanbul that Biden will be history for me if he has indeed used such expressions.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday demanded an apology from US Vice President Joe Biden and warned he would become “history for me” over comments in which he said the Turkish leader had admitted that Turkey had made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters to cross into Syria.
Erdogan denied ever saying that and told reporters in Istanbul that Biden “will be history for me if he has indeed used such expressions.”
Responding to questions following his speech at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday Biden described Erdogan as “an old friend.” Biden added: “He (Erdogan) said: ‘You were right. We let too many people through.’ Now they’re trying to seal their border.”
Erdogan said: “I have never said to him that we had made a mistake never. If he did say this at Harvard then he has to apologize to us.”
The spat comes as Turkey a NATO ally is expected to define the role it will play in the US-led coalition against the ISIS militants who have captured a swath of Iraq and Syria in some cases right up to the Turkish border.
This week Turkey’s parliament approved a motion giving the government powers for military operations across the border in Syria and Iraq and for foreign troops to use Turkey’s territory.
“Foreign fighters have never entered Syria from our country. They may come to our country as tourists and cross into Syria but no one can say that they cross in with their arms” Erdogan said.
He said Turkey had prevented 6000 suspected militants from entering the country and deported another 1000.
Biden said that “our biggest problem is our allies” in responding to the civil war in Syria.
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