Erdogan Warns Europeans on Their Safety as Tensions Rise With West
In a Twitter post written in English, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, quickly condemned the assault in London, noting
that Turkey had "suffered similar attacks many times." Mr. Erdogan’s comments were a response to restrictions placed on his surrogates in European countries including Germany and the Netherlands, where they have been barred from holding political rallies in support of a referendum in which Turks will decide whether to expand their president’s powers.
By PATRICK KINGSLEYMARCH 22, 2017
KASTAMONU, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey warned Europeans on Wednesday
that they would no longer be able to walk safely in the street if Western politicians continued with perceived provocations against Turkish leaders.
Western news organizations have been quick to report on these provocations, which are then read and condemned by European leaders — creating a feedback loop
that in turn gives Mr. Erdogan more excuses to criticize Europe and to begin the cycle afresh.
"Until Erdogan, our leaders were just standing meekly in the outside world." Hopes
that the dispute would ease were raised on Tuesday, after Mr. Erdogan’s party canceled plans to send more lawmakers to campaign in Germany.
Ankara said that If you go on behaving like that, tomorrow nowhere in the world, none
of the Europeans, Westerners will be able to walk in the streets in peace, safely,
The tactic appeals to some Turkish voters, including many of those who attended a rally on Wednesday
in Kastamonu in northern Turkey, where Mr. Erdogan headed immediately after speaking in Ankara.