Presidency calls reports on Erdoğan's criticism of US 'baseless'


The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday vehemently denied a media report that he "blasted" the U.S. administration in a closed-door meeting.

"The president has shared his views on the ongoing war in Syria and Turkey's position on the PKK's Syrian branch PYD [Democratic Union Party] and YPG [People's Protection Units] in the same way that he has said before," the president's office said in a statement.

The report claimed that Erdoğan criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's administration for its support of the PYD and YPG and that during a dinner with representatives of American think tanks in Washington on Tuesday he criticized U.S. media for biased coverage of Turkish government policies.

The president's office described the report as "provocative" and emphasized the strategic partnership between Turkey and the U.S. as well as close bilateral relations between the two allies with respect to various regional and global issues.

"President Erdoğan's visit to the U.S. to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of President Obama is a reflection of this fact," the statement said. "Turkey and the United States will continue to work together for global peace and security," it added.