Ankara summons US envoy to protest ‘aggressive’ acts against two bodyguards

Police secure the street outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C, during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 16, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Turkey has slammed the United States for the way it treated two Turkish bodyguards during a recent trip by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Washington.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said on Monday that it had submitted a "written and verbal protest" to US Ambassador John Bass over the treatment of the two security officers.

The two guards were briefly arrested after a melee broke out outside the residence of the Turkish ambassador in Washington. The guards had been filmed hitting and kicking protesters in the area while Erdogan was watching the scene. The two were later released and returned to Turkey.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry claimed the two officers were part of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's security escort, saying the way they were treated was "contrary to diplomatic rules and practices." The statement said the US authorities had been requested to conduct a “full investigation” into the “diplomatic incident” and provide the necessary explanation.

US officials had summoned the Turkish envoy to voice concerns about the altercation that happened outside the embassy amid increasing calls for strong action against the Turkish officers. Many say US President Donald Trump's administration should show a forceful response to the violence that took place on the American soil.

Turkey and the US have been at odds over the developments in Syria, where Washington has been supporting Kurdish militias fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. Turkey sees the Kurdish forces as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants, who have been operating inside Turkey for decades.

Turkey has also criticized the US for not extraditing Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who is accused by Ankara of having orchestrated a failed coup last year. More than 100,000 have been arrested or discharged from their jobs over alleged links to Gulen and his network. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied any involvement in the coup on July 15, 2016, which left more than 250 people dead.