Altun slams CBS News for showing Istanbul as Greek territory
Turkey's Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun speaks at the joint opening meeting of the "National Strategic Communication Policy" and "Combating Disinformation" workshops, Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 26, 2021. (AA Photo)


Turkey is officially and openly protesting the mistake of the American broadcaster CBS News, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Tuesday in his warning letter to the broadcaster that portrayed Istanbul as Greek territory in a news report on the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Communications Directorate continues to struggle with disinformation and misinformation against Turkey in the national and international arena, according to the statement released by the directorate.

In his rebuttal, he demanded that this mistake be corrected immediately and necessary explanations be made, Altun said, "It has been brought to my attention that in a news report by CBS News about the passage of Russian warships through the Straits of Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and which has been under the rule of the Turkish nation since 1453, looks like Greek territory."

"Considering that Greece has harmed the regional security with its maximalist demands in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and weakened NATO's Eastern flank, we protest this mistake of your channel, which we hope is not malicious," he said.

Underlining that the mistake made should not be repeated, Altun said, "We expect the necessary measures to be taken to avoid any step that could bring into question Turkey's territorial integrity."

Altun added that Turkey is expecting an explanation about the incident that took place on Monday.