The White House has denied claims made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that President Trump apologized to him over the attack’s by Erdogan’s bodyguards on peaceful protesters in front of the Turkish ambassador’s residence in DC in May.
Erdogan told PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff on Monday that when two spoke on September 9, Trump told him he was sorry for what happened.
“Actually, President Trump called me about a week ago about this issue,” Erdogan told Woodruff. “He said that he was sorry, and he told me that he was going to follow up on this issue when we come to the United States within the framework of an official visit. The protesters were insulting us, and they were screaming and shouting. The police failed to intervene properly.”
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told CNN on Wednesday that “the topic was discussed. There was no apology.”
The White House on Monday announced that the Trump Administration has officially withdrawn https://asbarez.com/166616/white-house-withdraws-proposed-arms-sale-to-erdogans-security-detail/ its controversial proposal to allow the sale of U.S. semi-automatic handguns to Erdogan’s security detail, which, in May attacked peaceful American protesters in Washington.
The House, in July, passed the Trott Amendment, a measure strongly backed by the ANCA, against the arms sale. Following this vote, Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Trott, said: “We need to block this arms sale and once and for all point a finger in Erdogan’s chest and tell him that a strategic location does not place Turkey above the law.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) were among the first to raise objections to the sale. Notably, Royce formally communicated to Secretary of State Tillerson his strong opposition to the deal, calling the conduct of the Turkish guards “unprofessional and brutal.”