Erdogan with Obama
Photo: AFP
Erdogan: West favors Israel
Turkish PM accuses Western nations of ignoring international law over Gaza Flotilla raid
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Friday accused the West of giving Israel
preferential treatment on Friday.
Addressing the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, the Turkish leader said in an interview with Iranian TV that "unfortunately, the West treats Israel differently."
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"When it comes to Israel, the West ignores international law, including in the case of the nine Turkish citizens who were killed by Israeli soldiers in international waters," he added.
Erdogan, Obama in S. Korea (Photo: AFP)
Erdogan said he had brought up the flotilla incident in a conversation with US President Barack Obama earlier this week, and explained that one of those nine people killed aboard the Mavi Marmara was an American national.
"We asked (Obama), why don't you protect his rights? He didn't reply," he said.
Erdogan stipulated that in order for the rift between Israel and Turkey to be mended, the Jewish state must apologize for the killings, compensate the victims' families and to lift the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Also during the interview, Erdogan noted that he discussed Iran's nuclear development with Obama, and told the US leader that Tehran "says that our religion does not allow the possession of nuclear arms."
When asked about reports that Israel has 250 nuclear bombs in its arsenal, Erdogan said: "I don't think that Israel has such a quantity of nuclear war heads, but there is no doubt that it does have some such war heads, and I have been fighting against that. I have held meetings over the matter with the US, Russia and Arab countries."
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