Pompeo's allegations ‘exaggeration, disinformation’: Çavuşoğlu

ANKARA

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s allegations about Türkiye in his book are “false information, exaggeration, double standards and disinformation,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 26.

“I think, my former colleague wrote this book to launch the campaign for the presidential candidacy. There is false information. I’m saying it diplomatically, you can call it a ‘lie,’ there is an exaggeration, there is a double standard,” Çavuşoğlu said using the Arabic acronym of the ISIL at a press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

Pompeo, who served as U.S. secretary of state between 2018-2021 during the term of former President Donald Trump, tells his memories in his book “Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love.” Pompeo alleged that the Turkish army did not have the capacity to fight ISIL.

“It is a sorry state to say in the book that the Turkish army does not have the capacity to defeat Daesh,” he said reminding that the U.S. engagement with the PKK/YPG did not start during the term of Trump, but began in the period of former U.S. President Barack Obama. “So, it is not their decision,” he added.

“The only army fighting close combat against Daesh was the Turkish army. While [we were] clearing the north of Syria from Daesh, the U.S. sent YPG and Daesh members to Afghanistan by planes and buses during the term of Pompeo. They are responsible for the attacks in Afghanistan,” the minister stated.

The U.S.’ “support of terrorism so far” is a crime, he said, adding, “I believe there is significant disinformation in order not to be subject to legal procedures.”

The Turkish military was the sole NATO army to fight the ISIL on the field eliminating 4,500 ISIL members, he stated.

Referring to a visit by Pompao and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to Türkiye in 2019, Çavuşoğlu said, “A tete-a-tete meeting took place between our president and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. While we were waiting in another room with Pompeo and other friends, we saw that Pompeo was uncomfortable with the time [of the meeting] being prolonged. There were also some requests to “let’s go inside.” I told him, ‘One is the president, the other is the vice president. They call us when they need us.’ As per protocol and etiquette, I told him that it was not right to go without calling the leaders inside.”

The minister further said Pompeo posted a tweet and then deleted it on the night of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

“We understand that he supported the coup attempt. This is why he was disturbed by the video,” the minister said, referring to Pompeo’s comment that a video displayed in Ankara about the coup attempt was disturbing.

Meanwhile, Turkish presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, who attended the 2019 meeting between Erdoğan and Pence said Pompeo was “distorting” the meeting.

When the U.S. officials said that they would continue their PYD/YPG policies, Ankara drew attention to some important issues, Kalın told daily Hürriyet on Jan. 26.

This policy of supporting YPG in Syria was taken over from the Obama era, and it was a great inconsistency that the new U.S. administration continued with the Syria policy while smashing all the policies of the Obama era, the Turkish officials told their American counterparts at the 2019 meeting, Kalın said.