Turkey summons US diplomat after embassy ‘liked’ tweet about ailing nationalist

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey summoned the US charge d’affaires after the embassy’s Twitter account “liked” a tweet about a nationalist politician who was recently in the hospital, the Turkish foreign ministry says.

“Today the US charge d’affaires was summoned to the ministry to give an open and clear explanation of the social media posting,” the ministry says.

It adds that the United States’ ambassador was not in Ankara on Sunday.

The embassy’s official Twitter account had liked a tweet on Saturday in which an individual said Turkey should be ready for a political period without Devlet Bahceli.

Bahceli leads the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the junior partner of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since their formal alliance in 2018.

The MHP also backed the AKP in a 2017 referendum on changing the Turkish constitution to transform the country’s system into an executive presidency.

Last month Bahceli, 71, was taken to the hospital after suffering nausea but was released shortly after. Despite assurances, there have been concerns recently over his health.

The US embassy apologized yesterday in a tweet, saying the posting had been “liked by accident.”

Relations between Turkey and the United States have been strained in recent years over multiple issues including US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed by Ankara as terrorists.

— AFP