World leaders denounce deadly Turkish coup bid

Agencies
People stand and celebrate on an army tank after taking over military position on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul on Saturday following an attempt by discontented soldiers to seize power from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP / BULENT KILIC)

World leaders on Saturday condemned a deadly but foiled coup attempt by a faction of the Turkish army against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule.
The Gulf nation of Qatar, which has close ties to Erdogan’s government, was quick to condemn the military coup attempt.
It called the attempted coup a “violation of the constitutional legitimacy” in Turkey and said it supports all legal measures the government takes to maintain security and stability.
The official Qatar News Agency said the ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has spoken with Erdogan by phone to express Qatar’s support.
Qatar and Turkey have grown increasingly close in recent years, and share similar stances on their support for Syrian rebel groups and the Muslim Brotherhood. The two countries agreed last year to establish a Turkish military base in Qatar.
Rivals Iran and Israel, which have both had strained relationships with Erdogan’s government, condemned the putsch that began late on Friday night.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke with his Turkish counterpart three times since the crisis began.
On Twitter, he hailed the Turkish people’s “defense of democracy & their elected government” which he said “proves that coups have no place in our region and are doomed to fail.”
“Deeply concerned about the crisis in Turkey,” Zarif tweeted late on Friday. “Stability, democracy & safety of Turkish people are paramount. Unity & prudence are imperative.”
Israel, which last month approved a deal to restore ties frozen after a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010, also condemned the coup attempt.
“Israel respects the democratic process in Turkey and looks forward to the continuation of the reconciliation process between Turkey and Israel,” said foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.
Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers, who have friendly ties with Qatar as well as Turkey’s ruling Islamic-rooted AKP party “condemned the failed coup attempt” and “congratulated the people and the Turkish leadership for successfully protecting democracy.”
Turkey has recently obtained several compromises from Israel over Gaza including authorization for Ankara to build a hospital.
In Khartoum, Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir condemned “the attempted coup in Turkey and the disturbance of security and stability in the country.”
“The government of Sudan and its people stand besides President Erdogan and the people of Turkey to ensure security and stability in Turkey,” the presidency statement added.
Syria’s exiled Syrian opposition congratulated the Turkish people for halting the attempted military coup.
The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said Turkey has protected its democratic institutions “in the face of dark and desperate attempts that sought to take control of the popular will.”
Turkey has been one of the main backers of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, and is hosting some 2.7 million Syrian refugees.
In the early hours of the attempted coup, celebratory gunfire broke out across Damascus. The government and its supporters view the rebels as terrorists and consider Turkey to be one of their chief sponsors.

World powers react
In Washington, President Barack Obama urged all sides in Turkey to support the democratically elected government of Erdogan amid the military takeover attempt involving the key NATO ally.
In a statement issued after a meeting with his national security advisers Friday, Obama also urged everyone in Turkey to show restraint and avoid violence or bloodshed.
Turkey plays a key role in the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh group. American jets use its Incirlik air base to fly missions against the extremists in Syria and Iraq.
Obama discussed the developments by telephone with Secretary of State John Kerry, who was traveling in Moscow for separate meetings with senior Russian officials on Syria.
In a separate statement, Kerry said he had stressed in a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu the United States’ “absolute support” for Turkey’s democratically elected, civilian government and democratic institutions. Kerry said he urged all parties to ensure the safety and well-being of diplomatic missions, personnel and civilians across Turkey.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday turmoil in Turkey threatened regional stability and called on the Turkish authorities to resolve the situation without violence and within the country’s constitutional framework.
It spoke out as forces loyal to the Turkish government fought on Saturday to crush the remnants of a military coup attempt which crumbled after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan’s call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.
Relations between the Kremlin and Erdogan remain strained over the Syria crisis and the Turkish shooting down of a Russian fighter jet in November despite an agreement last month to resume bilateral cooperation after a period of tension.
“In Moscow we are gravely concerned about events inside the Turkish republic,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The escalation of the political situation (in Turkey) against the backdrop of existing terrorist threats in this country and of armed conflict in the region pose heightened risks for international and regional stability.”

Safe and secure
NATO’s chief says all alliance personnel and military units in Turkey are “safe and secure” following the attempted coup. Turkeyis a member of the Atlantic alliance.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a Twitter post that he had spoken to NATO’s supreme commander, US Army Gen. Curtis M. Scapparrotti, who “confirms that all NATO personnel and units in Turkey are safe and secure.”
The alliance chief also tweeted that he welcomed “the strong support shown by the people and all political parties to democracy and to the democratically elected gov of Turkey.”
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to underline support for Turkey’s “democratic elected government and institutions” in the wake of the overnight coup attempt.
Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo condemned the attempted coup, telling Spanish national television that his government completely supports the Turkish government headed by Erdogan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday turmoil in Turkey threatened regional stability and called on the Turkish authorities to resolve the situation without violence and within the country’s constitutional framework.
It spoke out as forces loyal to the Turkish government fought on Saturday to crush the remnants of a military coup attempt which crumbled after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan’s call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.
Relations between the Kremlin and Erdogan remain strained over the Syria crisis and the Turkish shooting down of a Russian fighter jet in November despite an agreement last month to resume bilateral cooperation after a period of tension.
“In Moscow we are gravely concerned about events inside the Turkish republic,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The escalation of the political situation (in Turkey) against the backdrop of existing terrorist threats in this country and of armed conflict in the region pose heightened risks for international and regional stability.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said “democratic institutions should be respected in Turkey.”
“We strongly hope that the situation will return to normal and that order and peace will be restored as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.
An aide to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Tariq Fatimi, condemned the attempted coup in a statement and said Pakistan “hopes that peace and normalcy will be restored in Turkey.”
Pakistan’s main political parties have also praised the people of Turkey for foiling the coup.
Sharif was himself overthrown in a 1999 coup led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan until 2008.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani expressed support for Turkey’s elected government, saying in a statement that “democratic elections are the most effective means for peaceful transfer of power.”
“Militaristic options will only undermine democratic institutions, stability and development in the country,” the statement from Ghani’s office said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter said his country condemns the attempted coup “in the firmest way.”
“Based on the number of deaths and the way it was carried out, this attempted coup can be also called an act of terror,” he said.
The president of Turkey’s neighbor Azerbaijan condemned the attempted coup.
President Ilham Aliev was concerned about developments in Turkey and “welcomed measures taken to prevent the attempt at a coup and to stabilize the situation,” spokesman Ali Hasanov said.
Azerbaijan is a Turkic nation and its late president Geidar Aliev once described their relations as “one nation, two states” — a phrase later echoed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkmenistan says the coup attempt has caused “serious anxiety.”
The Foreign Ministry said President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov “expressed support for the Turkish people and government and also firm confidence in stabilizing the situation in Turkey.”
Turkmenistan is ethnically Turkic but does not share a border with Turkey.